GUIDE 


TO 


FRENCH  PRONUNCIATION 


AND 


PRACTICAL  PHONETICS 


BY 
PHILIPPE  DE  LA  ROCHELLE 


ilifornia 

ional 

lity 


d. 


N 


GUIDE 


TO 


FRENCH  PRONUNCIATION 


AND 


PRACTICAL  PHONETICS 


BY 
PHILIPPE  DE  LA  RQCHELLE 


FULLER     BUILDING 

PHILADELPHIA,  U.  S.  A. 

1909 


COPYRIGHT,  1909, 

BY 
PHILIPPE  DE  LA  ROCHELLE. 


INTRODUCTION. 

For  the  past  few  years  special  attention  has  been 
paid  to  the  study  of  Phonetics  for  two  reasons: 

(1)  It  is   impossible  to  speak  good  French  or  to 
acquire  a  pure  accent  without  studying  in  detail  that 
part   of   the   Grammar   which   treats   of    sounds   and 
articulations. 

(2)  We  cannot  expect  a  pupil  opening  a  French 
Grammar  for  the  first  time  to  READ  a  word.     Conse- 
quently in  writing  the  following  pages,  the  pupil  who 
has  no  teacher  has  been  constantly  kept  in  view. 

A  practical  survey  of  the  French  sounds  may  pre- 
vent students  from  groping  in  the  dark  or  depending 
exclusively  on  their  teachers  in  preparing  their  next 
lesson. 

Furthermore,  we  know  that  students  can  acquire 
French  in  America  as  well  as  in  France,  provided  they 
are  well  grounded.  Pupils  properly  trained  have  no 
difficulty  in  enjoying  good  French  spoken  or  in  inter- 
preting the  plays  at  any  French  theatre. 

It  has  been  demonstrated  that  by  following  the 
directions  set  forth  in  this  framework,  much  drudgery 
may  be  avoided  and  interest  awakened  for  further 
pursuit. 

We  extend  our  grateful  appreciation  to  Dr.  Hugo 
A.  Rennert,  Director  of  the  French  Department  of 
the  University  of  Pennsylvania,  for  his  valuable  sug- 
gestions, also  to  Dr.  J.  P.  W.  Crawford.. 

3 


2081821 


4  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

PUNCTUATION 

Its  first  use  dates  200  years  B.  C.  and  is  attributed 
to  Aristophanes  of  Byzantium.  But  it  was  not  gen- 
erally used  as  the  pauses  replaced  it.  In  French  it 
plays  an  important  part. 

VIRGULE. — The  comma  (virgula  or  little  rod  used 
by  the  Romans)  was  first  used  in  correcting  sentences, 
then  for  pauses  in  sentences. 

Le  pere,  la  mere,  le  fils  sont  bons. 

Le  frangais  est  facile,  le  travail  difficile. 

La  Lexicologie,  ou  etude  des  mots,  du  vocabulaire. 

La  Morphologic,  ou  etude  des  formes. 

La  Syntaxe,  ou  etude  des  propositions. 

L'inspecteur,  dit  le  maire,  est  un  ane. 

L'an  1909,  le  6  mars,  a  huit  heures  du  soir,  les 
eleves  se  sont  reunis  en  assemblee  generale,  au  lieu 
ordinaire  de  leurs  seances,  a  X.  .,  rue  Z.  .,  no.  . 

New- York,  le  4  Janvier  1909. 

Monsieur  X..,  agriculteur  a  X..,  25,  rue  Saint- 
Saens,  Aix. 

Monsieur, 

"  Je  dis  toujours  la  meme  chose,  et,  si  ce  n'etait  pas 
tou jours  la  meme  chose,  je  ne  dirais  pas  toujours  la 
meme  chose."  (Don  Juan,  II,  I.) 

Le  voila,  le  chameau. 

A  votre  age,  Napoleon  etait  mort. 

La  France,  amis,  sera  toujours  la  France, 

Et  les  Frangais  seront  toujours  Franqais. 

Petite  ame  errante,  caressante. 

Allons,  enfants  de  la  patrie. 

Le  jour  de  gloire  est  arrive! 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  5 

Et  moi  aussi,  je  suis  peintre. 

La  mer  est  belle,  calme,  tranquille. 

Qui  va  doucement,  va  surement. 

Je  suis  venu,  j'ai  vu,  j'ai  vaincu. 

Le  temps,  c'est  de  1'argent. 

Madame,  etes-vous  protectrice  de  cette  ecole? 

Rule :  A  comma  contributes  to  clearness  by  indi- 
cating small  interruptions  between  subjects,  attributes, 
verbs  and  propositions.  Words  in  apposition,  explan- 
ations, etc.,  require  the  comma;  in  fact  any  group  of 
words  or  short  clause. 

PoiNT-ViRGULE  (  ;)  or  semicolon  marks,  as  in  Eng- 
lish, the  division  of  sentences  somewhat  more  lengthy 
although  strictly  connected  by  the  sense. 

Son  rhumatisme  le  fait  souff rir ;  la  fievre  1'a  repris. 

Mon  cheval  est  blanc ;  celui  de  mon  pere  est  noir. 

POINT  (period). — In  abbreviations  or  at  the  end  of 
a  complete  sentence. 

M.  ou  Mme.  Mile.,  etc. 

L'Amerique,  1'Europe,  1'Asie,  1'Afrique  et  1'Oceanie. 

POINT  D'INTERROGATION  (?). — In  questions;  not  in 
indirect  questions.  • 

Quel  est  cet  homme? 

But,  je  demande  quel  est  cet  homme. 

POINT  D'EXCLAMATION  (!). — In  interjections  or 
sentences  expressing  joy,  admiration,  terror,  etc. 

O  Liberte !  que  de  crimes  on  commet  en  ton  nom. 

Dieu  sauve  le  roi ! 

POINTS  DE  SUSPENSIONS  (...) . — In  quotations  they 
mark  the  omission  of  superfluous  words ;  in  descrip- 
tions they  mark  interruptions,  reticence. 

Presents :  MM . 


6  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

Absents:  MM... 

Sur  la  premiere  question,  M.  C.  .  .  demande  la 
parole  et .  . . 

Je  1'ai  vu,  dis-je,  vu,  de  mes  propres  yeux  vu, 

Ce  qui  s'appelle  vu 

Oh !  si  j'avais  des  ailes 

Vers  ce  beau  ciel  si  pur  je  voudrais  les  ouvrir. 

(Musset,  Rolla) 

PARENTHESES  (  )  or  brackets. — Any  special  and 
complete  sentence  is  inserted  between  (  ). 

CROCHETS  [  ]  sort  of  parenthesis. 

La  grammaire  nous  enseigne  a  parler  et  a  ecrire 
sans  faire  de  fautes  (c'est-a-dire  correctement). 

Saint-Saens  [sanss]. 

Belise.  Veux-tu  toute  ta  vie  offenser  la  gram- 
maire? 

Martine.  Qui  parle  d'offenser  grand'mere  ni  grand- 
pere? 

(Moliere,  les  Femmes  savantes,  acte  II,  sc.  vi.) 

Ouvrez  la  parenthese:  ( ;  fermez-la:) 

GUILLEMETS  "  ". — In  French  special  marks  are  used 
which  are  placed  at  the  beginning  and  end  of  a  quota- 
tion, but  on  the  line,  not  above  it,  as  in  English ;  some- 
times at  the  beginning  of  every  line  and  of  each  stanza 
quoted. 

Madame  de  Sevigne  comparait  les  fables  de  La 
Fontaine  a  un  panier  de  cerises :  "  D'  abord,  disait- 
elle,  on  veut  ne  manger  seulement  que  les  plus  belles, 
puis  ensuite  on  finit  par  ne  rien  laisser  du  tout." 

TIRET  ( — )  or  dash. — In  a  dialogue  it  serves  to 
note  the  remarks  of  a  different  speaker,  also  to  re- 
place the  words :  repondit-il,  dit-il. 


"  Mon  moulin  est  a  moi, 

Tout  aussi  bien,  au  moins,  que  la  Prusse  est  au  roi. 

— Aliens,  ton  dernier  mot,  bonhomme,  et  prends-y 
garde ! 

— Faut-il  vous  parler  clair? — Oui. — C'est  que  je  le 
garde." 

(Andrieux). 

*  asterique. 

•{  accolade 

t  croix  de  renvoi 

MAJUSCULES  or  Capital  Letters. — Mostly  used  as 
in  English,  except  when  words  are  adjectives. 

Le  poete  americain,  franqais,  allemand,  anglais,  etc. 

MINUSCULES  or  small  letters  are  used  in  the  days 
of  the  weeks,  months,  names  of  religions,  philosoph- 
ical schools,  etc. 

Le  mardi,  le  samedi,  le  dimanche. 

Le  catholicisme,  le  protestantisme. 

L'ecole  pythagoricienne,  etc. 

FRENCH  ALPHABET 

Majuscules  or  Capital  Letters : 

ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ 
Minuscules  or  Small  Letters : 

abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz 
Old  Pronunciation : 

A  as  ah        H  as  ash        O  as  oh        V  as  vay 

B       bay       I        ee  P        pay      W      doobl-vay 


c 

say 

J 

jhee 

Q 

ku 

X 

iks 

D 

day 

K 

kah 

R 

air 

Y 

ee-grek 

E 

ay 

L 

ell 

S 

ess 

Z 

zed 

F 

eff 

M 

emm 

T 

tay 

G 

zhay 

N 

enn 

U 

u 

8  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

Modern  Pronunciation  of  Consonants  (see  page 
26): 

B  as  be       H  as  he     N  as  ne  T  as  te     CH  as  she 

C       se        J        zhe  P        pe  V      ve     GN      g-ne 

D       de       K       ke     Q  (que)  ke    W     ve 

F       fe        L       le      R      re  X      kse 

G       jhe     M      me    S       se  Z      ze 

(the  e  as  in  water.) 

ORTHOGRAPHIC  MARKS 

are:  acute,  grave,  circumflex,  cedilla,  apostrophe,  di- 
aeresis and  hyphen. 

The  acute  accent  occurs  only  on  e  which  is  sounded 
as  ay:  eie,  repete,  etc. 

The  grave  occurs  on  a,  \a,  voilo,  dejo,  ou  and  mostly 
on  words  ending  in  <?re,  etc,  £ne:  p£re,  mere,  fr<?re,  je 
repute,  je  m£ne,  etc. 

The  circumflex  (grave  and  acute)  shows  frequently 
the  loss  of  s  in  tete,  fete,  hopital,  hote,  etc. 

In  the  old  French  those  words  are  written  teste, 
feste,  etc. 

In  1680  P.  Richelet  wrote  these  words  with  the  cir- 
cumflex ;  the  s  being  no  longer  pronounced  in  those 
words  from  the  I3th  century  to  1740  was  continued 
however  to  be  used  by  some  writers. 

On  certain  vowels  it  is  a  sign  of  contraction :  mur  = 
meur  =  maturum,  sur=  seur  =  securum. 

Cedilla  (introduced  in  1529) — in  Italian  zediglia 
or  little  z — was  placed  under  c  to  give  it  the  sound  of  s 
before  a,  o,  u. 

FranQais,  lec,on,  rec,u. 

Apostrophe. — As  in  English  it  shows  the  elision  of 
the  vowels  a,  e,  i,  at  the  end  of  a  word  and  before  an- 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  9 

other  word  beginning  with  h  mute  or  a  vowel :  thus : 
I'ami,  rhomme,  Tame,  s'il  vous  plait. 

Diaeresis  (trema)  was  introduced  in  1540.  The  two 
dots  over  'i,  e,  ii  in  Noel,  Saw/,  hair,  cigue,  etc.,  indicate 
that  the  vowels  are  sounded  separately:  No-£l,  Sa-wl, 
ha-i'r,  etc.,  etc. 

Otherwise  the  words  do  not  form  a  diphthong :  ligue, 
catalogue,  etc. 

Hyphen. — To-day  it  has  become  optional  in  con- 
necting words  or  groups  of  words  into  one;  we  may 
write  with  or  without  the  hyphen:  chef -lieu  or  chef 
lieu;  moi-meme  or  moi  meme;  ai-je  or  ai  je ;  dis-le  or 
dis  le. 

The  hyphen  was  first  used  in  1573. 

NOTE. — It  may  not  be  advisable  to  omit  it  in  Verbs 
of  the  'first  conjugation  such  as  aime-je,  flatte-je  or 
in  .a-t-il,  etc. 

CLASSIFICATION  OF  VOWELS  AND  CONSONANTS. 

The  vowels  are  a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  y. — They  are  either  short 
or  long:  thus,  a,  a  are  short;  a  (letter)  is  long.  More- 
over, they  are  divided  into  tonic,  atonic  and  nasal. 

In  the  1 6th  century  the  j  and  the  v  (i  and  u  con- 
sonants) were  often  written  i  or  j,  u  or  v  by  the 
French.  Dubois  (1531)  first  distinguished  i  from  j 
and  v  from  u. 

In  the  following  lessons,  the  vowels  will  be  care- 
fully studied  from  a  practical  point  of  view. 

Consonants : 

7  dental — d,  1,  n,  r,  s,  t,  z. 

6  labial — b,  f,  m,  p,  v,  w. 

3  palatal— k(c),  g,  h. 

2  spirants — ch,  j. 


t'  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION1 

SIMPLE  VOWELS. 

A. — Its  timbre  or  quality  of  voice.  When  long  the 
a  is  uttered  fully  and  deeply  in  upward  direction: 

La  (note  in  music),  Jacques,  a  (letter  of  the  alpha- 
bet), ame,  ane,  grace,  mat,  lache,  gars,  Dumas,  matin, 
male,  rage,  pate,  tas,  bat,  crane,  cable,  fable,  etc. 

Short  a: — II  a,  a,  ma,  ta,  sa,  la,  la,  <;a,  sofa,  il  parla, 
— in  all  verbs  ending  in — er :  nous  parlames,  vous  par- 
lates,  Versailles,  paille,  bague,  champagne,  sacre, 
tache,  place,  acte,  pacte,  patisserie,  lame,  etc. 

Note: — On  the  last  syllable  but  one,  the  vowel 
is  generally  short  when  followed  by  a  double  con- 
sonant :  salle,  pelle,  folle,  motte,  butte,  ville,  etc. 

The  a  grave  sound  under  the  roof  of  the  mouth ;  it 
is  louder,  larger,  fuller  than  a  aigu.  The  latter  re- 
quires only  a  slight  effort  and  expires  on  the  lower 
lip. 

In  the  French  language  the  vowels  (short)  are 
always  voyelles.  aigue's  and  the  graves  always  long. 
From  the  grave  to  the  aigu  there  are  degrees  of  sonor- 
ity or  nuances  of  sound,  but  they  are  not  as  sharply 
defined  as  in  the  case  of  the  vowel  c. 

Some  writers  maintain  that  a  may  be  uttered  in  five 
different  ways  according  to  its  position  in  a  word. 
The  first  a  in  papa  is  shorter  than  the  last;  the  a  in 
Paris  is  shorter  than  a  circumflex  in  Paris;  the  a  in 
pate  reaches  the  roof  of  the  mouth  while  the  a  in  patte 
is  flat ;  the  a  in  phrase,  ecraser  is  deeper  than  a  in 
race,  face;  a  in  car  sounds  further  back  into  the  mouth 
than  avoir;  the  last  a  in  Canada  more  upward  than  at 
in  avocat. 


II 

E 

E  naiurel  in  le,  me,  te,  ce,  se,  que,  ne  and  je. 

E  ferme  in  verite,  ete,  repete,  parler  (verbs  of  the 
first  conjugation)  ;  leger,  chez,  entrez,  nez,  etc. 

E  ouvert  in  pere,  mere,  frere,  hiver,  fer,  vert,  cher, 
hier,  mer,  etc.,  sounds  as  ai  in  air. 

Also  in  les,  des,  mes,  ses,  tes,  ces,  est,  etc. 

E  ouvert  allonge  in  bete,  tete,  fete,  meme,  tempete, 
etc.,  sounds  as  a  prolonged  ai  in  air. 

Note:  —  The  e  ferme  is  called  masculin,  because  at 
the  end  of  an  adjective  or  past  participle,  it  denotes 
the  masculine  gender  :  aime. 

E  mute  without  accent  is  slightly  pronounced  at  the 
end  of  a  syllable:  rnond^,  pehV:  it  is  silent  in  soi?, 


The  mute  e,  medial  or  final,  seems  since  the  I5th 
century,  to  have  been  either  mute  or  heard  as  it  is 
to-day  in  conversation.  Ex.  :  J'  n'en  sais  rien,  but,  we 
say:  je  n'  sais  pas.  Other  examples:  j'vais  mettre  un' 
let'  a  la  pos'  for  je  vais  mettre  une  lettre  a  la  poste; 
c'est  un'  fenetre,  although  we  say,  la  f'netre. 

E  mute  is  also  silent  in  :  pri<?rai,  jou^rai,  pri^,  pri^s, 
pri<mt,  oubli^rai,  etc. 

Rule:  After  an  unaccented  (atonic)  vowel,  after  an 
accented  (tonic)  vowel,  the  e  is  silent;  after  a  con- 
sonant it  is  almost  silent  :  il  criera,  il  louera,  samedi  ; 
in  other  words,  the  mute  e  is  the  weakest  of  our 
French  sounds  generally  audible  at  the  end  of  words 
like:  mond^,  fidel^,  but  silent  in  joli^,  iolie. 

E  mute  is  often  elided  at  the  end  of  words  imme- 
diately followed  by  a  vowel  or  h  mute  :  une  oreille  at- 
tentive, une  heureuse  annee,  la  vie  est  un  songe. 


12  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

NOTE. — In  poetry,  a  mute  syllable  does  not  count  at 
the  end  of  a  verse,  neither  in  any  part  of  the  verse 
when  elided. 

E  mute  is  called  feminin  because  it  forms  the  fem- 
inine of  adjectives :  pur,  pure,  cher,  chere,  saint,-sainte, 
complet,  complete;  in  poetry,  it  designates  the  rimes 
feminities. 

Grammarians  say:  there  cannot  be  two  mute  e's  in 
succession  at  the  end  of  a  word. 

Dieu  a  cree  le  monde;  in  this  example  both  e's  are 
acute.  L'ecole  fut  fondee;  the  final  e  is  silent. 

In  words  of  one  syllable,  the  voice  hardly  attacks 
the  e ;  especially  in  colloquial  utterance  :  je  ne  le  ferai 
pas ;  qu'est-ce  que  c'est  que  ca? 

Pronunciation  of  the  E. — Open  the  mouth  (draw- 
ing a  long  breath),  expel  the  breath;  the  full  sound  of 
e  in  water  (no  r  sound)  is  reached  in  French  by  ad- 
vancing the  lower  lip  downwards. 

Modern  pronunciation  of  French  consonants :  be, 
ce,  de,  fe,  etc. 

From  the  preceding  remarks  pupils  may  be  able  to 
read  several  words,  to  spell  at  least  their  names  in 
French,  to  divide  words  into  syllables,  etc. 

REVIEW. 

For  our  practical  purposes  we  shall  review  briefly : 
In    conversation    the    a,    e    (simple    vowels)    are 

sounded  more  quickly  than  in  elocution,  singing  or 

poetry. 

Feminine  syllables  characterized  by  the  so-called  e 

mute  are  very  quickly  sounded. 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  13 

To  avoid  monotony,  articulate  the  division  of  syl- 
lables. 

Dictation  from  the  first  lessons  will  gradually  help 
you  to  hear  and  distinguish  simple  sounds. 


REGLES 

Any  syllable  is  short  whose  last  vowel  is  followed 
by  a  final  consonant  (except  s  or  z)  : 

Le  sac,  le  bac,  crac,  trie,  trac,  bal,  aval,  pal,  car, 
instar,  par,  pare,  arc,  cap,  combat,  avocat,  in  adjec- 
tives :  plat,  ingrat. 

Grec,  sec,  and  verbs  of  the  first  conjugation:  parlor, 
chanter,  etc.  ;  et,  il  remet,  il  met,  and  its  compounds. 

All  the  preceding  nouns,  any  masculine  syllable  (i. 
e.,  not  ending  in  mute  e},  short  or  not  in  the  singular, 
is  long  in  the  plural  :  les  sacs,  les  Grecs,  les  bals,  etc. 

A  and  E  are  long  before  two  indivisible  RR  :  bizarre, 
cafreau,  arret,  terre,  verre. 

S  lengthens  the  a  and  e  in  the  penultimate  syllable  : 
case,  phrase,  base,  table  rase,  diocese,  these. 

Words  of  dictation: 

Pre,  gaz,  bas,  bras,  mal,  the,  est,  rat,  ble,  arc,  chat, 
sac,  mer,  atre,  etre,  ane,  hate,  rale,  reve,  rene,  peche, 
capre,  patre,  chene.  Le  pre,  le  gaz,  le  bras,  le  mal,  le 
the,  le  rat,  le  ble,  Tare,  le  chat,  le  sac,  la  mer,  1'atre, 
1'etre,  1'ane,  la  hate,  le  rale,  le  reve,  la  rene,  la  peche, 
la  capre,  le  patre,  le  chene,  etc. 

Other  examples  :  L'ete,  le  cafe,  la  pate,  le  trema, 
le-chene,  la  serre,  la  terre,  le  nectar,  la  vie,  la  patte. 
1'armee,  la  mer,  le  general,  le  lac,  la  tache,  la  tache, 
le  lache,  la  vache,  1'acre,  la  cascade,  la  salade,  la 
carafe,  la  balafre,  le  male,  la  dalle,  Cesar,  la  trappe. 


14  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

i 

la  cabane,  la  cave,  la  taxe,  la  Grece,  la  pelle,  la  scene, 
Athenes,  la  gene,  Helene,  la  lepre,  je  pese,  le  metre, 
Geneve,  la  seve,  1'orfevre,  la  levre. 

I 

has  the  sound  of  ee  in  English :  ami,  image,  timide. 

NOTE. — ai,  la,  oi  are  sounded  separately  in  Jamaique 
lambique,  egoiste,  etc. 

I  in  the  Parisian  pronunciation,  preceded  by  two 
different  consonants,  is  always  long:  patriarche,  etc. 

Dictation. — L'ami,  1'amie,  les  amis,  les  amies,  le 
mardi,  les  mardis,  le  samedi,  les  samedis,  la  biche, 
les  biches,  la  bible,  les  bibles,  la  vie,  1'amitie,  la  max- 
ime,  la  rime,  1'epine,  la  cire,  le  Christ,  le  titre,  1'epitre, 
la  vitre,  le  litre,  la  piste.  Hair,  Sinai,  Thais,  Moise, 
etc. 

Ici,  Daniel,  animal,  aride,  acide,  defi,  garni,  minime, 
niece,  optique,  palmiste,  pipe,  rapide,  retreci,  riche, 
ride,  rire,  rive,  thebaique,  visite,  vice,  la  vie,  vizir. 

O 

Long  and  closed,  generally  with  the  circumflex  ac- 
cent, followed  by:  le,  me,  ne,  at  the  end  of  a  word: 
drole,  pole,  role,  dome,  fantome,  je  chome,  Rhone, 
cone,  prone,  also  in  apotre,  le  notre,  le  votre,  la 
votre,  les  notres,  les  votres,  etc. 

Short  in  any  syllable  when  vowel  o  is  followed  by 
final  consonant  (not  s  or  z). 

Roc,  bol,  Medoc,  pot,  robe,  globe,  sobre,  broche, 
etoffe,  ode,  loge,  golfe,  volte,  philosophe,  propre, 
epoque,  mot,  sot,  hotel,  roti,  notre,  votre,  col,  echo, 
etc, 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  1 5 

Medium  in  homme,  comme,  somme,  pomme,  il 
tonne,  je  donne,  etc. 

Dictate  o  long  in  the  following  words:  tot,  hote, 
rose,  les  dominos,  le,  la  poele,  il  rode,  a  few  -Greek 
words:  zone,  arome,  atome,  hippodrome,  idiome, 
axiome,  chrome,  atone,  tome,  gnome,  Sodome,  ama- 
zone,  also  corps,  pore  (no  c),  repos,  gros,  prevot, 
depot,  table  d'hote,  depot,  alcove. 

Dictate  o  short  in:  rosee,  rotir,  devot,  orge,  orgue, 
orme,  morgue,  madone,  Rome,  econome,  ecole,  solde, 
vogue,  loge,  dogme,  coffre,  noble,  opera,  hopital,  bloc, 
docte. 

O  has  the  same  sound  in-  eau,  an,  eaux,  aux:  ta- 
bleaux, tableau,  chateau,  chateaux,  beau,  beaux,  cha- 
peau,  chapeaux,  peau,  peaux,  etc. 

Endings  in  aud,  auld,  aut,  ault,  have  same  sound  as 
o:  chaud,  La  Rochefoucaw/rf,  saut,  Escawf,  Dufault, 
etc.' 

Review :  S  lengthens  o  in  the  penultimate :  prose, 
chose,  etc. 

SS  shortens  it :  brosse,  bosse,  brosse,  Ecosse,  a  few 
exceptions :  fosse,  grosse,  etc. 

O  long  in  rose,  etc.,  becomes  shorter  before  mas- 
culine syllable:  arroser,  oser,  poser,  etc. 

O  before  r  or  s  (sounded)  is  short:  ordre,  riposte, 
poste,  posterite,  postiche,  porter,  apporter,  rosbif, 
sorbet,  bosquet,  etc. 

O  final  is  short  in  the  singular :  zero,  duo,  cacao, 
dynamo. 

U  is  difficult  to  master  at  first;  by  placing  s  before 

U 


l6  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

it  you  control  your  lips  without  moving  them,  first 
hissing  slowly  su  (without  parting  lips  nor  rounding 
them)  then  more  forcibly  (always  avoiding  oo 
sound),  you  hear  gradually  u  on  the  tip  of  the  tongue, 
then  produce  it  suddenly  as  if  beginning  to  hum. 

Constant  practice  with  s  before  u  as  if  striking  the 
notes  on  a  piano  or  humming  may  help  you  greatly. 

Note : — Once  you  control  the  lips,  then  practice 
without  s. 

U  as  a,  e,  i,  o  is  generally  short  before  double  con- 
sonants :  lutte,  butte-,  Russe,  Russie,  Prusse,  Hussard. 

U  short  in  past  participles:  vu,  perdu,  su,  except 
cru,  du,  mu,  and  in  du,  cru. 

U  short  in  words  ending:  we,  wme,  u\,  wlbe,  wipe, 
wble,  wbre,  we,  wee,  wrne,  u  with  ^  (sounded)  jwste, 
bwste,  etc.,  or  MX,  wxe,  wne,  tribune,  brwme,  nwl,  bwlbe, 
pwlpe,  chaswble,  dwc,  diwrne,  luxe,  etc. 

U  long  generally  with  a  circumflex :  flute,  affut,  f ut, 
piqure,  sur,  mure,  also  in  verbs. 

U  with  plural  nouns  is  long:  les  dues,  les  menus,  etc. 

Ue  always  long:  cigue,  morue,  tortue,  statue,  vue. 

DICTATION. — Du,  tu,  lu,  su,  nu,  parvenu,  club,  il 
remuera,  parfumerie,  dune,  unanime,  unieme,  Ruth, 
minute,  il  fut,  il  est  ruse  elle  est  rusee,  dur,  duree, 
omnibus,  sur,  sur,  gageure,  eu,  la  jupe,  nous  eumes, 
etude,  la  buche  de  Noel,  etc. 

Y  (ee) 

was  often  used  at  the  end  of  words  instead  of  i  and 
had  the  same  pronunciation. 

To-day  it  is  used  for  an  i  in  words  derived  from  the 
Greek ;  and  for  two  i  in  words  strictly  French :  my- 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  I/ 

riade,  gymnase,  lyre,  style,  but  ayant  (as  two  i  in  a 
few  French  verbs),  in  pays,  paysage,  rayon,  crayon, 
aloyau,  payer,  etc. 

DICTATION. — Physique,  mystere,  Syracuse,  Syrie, 
syllabe,  La  Fayette,  La  Haye,  Cayenne,  Biscaye, 
Mayence,  mayonnaise,  analyse,  Tyrol,  Egypte,  gym- 
nastique,  cynique,  il  y  a,  etymologic,  il  a  paye  sa  note, 
Ivry,  acolyte,  psyche,  Babylone,  homonymes,  Cyrus,  Le 
Puy,  Thermopyles,  polygone,  1'oxygene,  les  Pyrenees, 
paronymes,  Sylvestre,  Bayard,  La  Bruyere,  Sully, 
Valmy,  myope,  myosotis,  Tyr,  Pyrrhus,  Yvonne, 
Yves,  Ulysse,  Chateau-Thierry,  cyclone,  paysan. 

UNION  OF  VOWELS :  ae,  ao,  ea,  ai,  aie.  ey,  ei,  eai,  eau, 
eo,  ie,  oeu,  eu. 

AE  in  Caen,  Saint-Saens,  the  a  is  silent :  kan, 
sain-sanss. 

AO. — O  is  silent  in  Laon,  faon,  paon :  an  in  want 
(no  t)  as  Ian,  fan,  pan, 

AO. — A  is  silent  in  aout,  Saone,  taon,  but  in  the 
verb  aouter  a  is  sounded:  oo,  sone,  ton,  in  long  (no 
g)  and  ah-oo-tay. 

EA. — e  before  a  softens  the  g  in  verbs :  il  songea, 
mangea,  etc. 

AI. — 4  sounds  of  ai. 

(1)  as  ay  (or  e)  in  verbs;  j'ai,  je  parlai,  je  chantai, 
je  parlerai,  etc. 

(2)  as  e  in  faisant,  nous  faisons,  satis faisant. 

(3)  as  e  in  ais,  ait,  aie,  aies,  aient  (verb  endings) 
or  nouns  ais,  ait,  aix,  aid,  air,  etc.     J'avais,  tu  avais, 
il  avait,  que  j'aie,  que  tu  aies,  qu'il  ait,  qu'ils  aient.     In 
plaie,  maison.  maitre,  air,  clair,  eclair,  chaise,  paire. 


l8  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

palais,  Anglais,  Franqais,  Ecossais,  lait,  s'il  vous 
plait,  parfait,  parfaite,  aile,  vrai,  vraie,  but  not  in  gaie 
or  je  sais. 

(4)  as  a  in  douairiere,  Montaigne.  Larousse  says  : 
Monta-gne'  or  tegne.  L'abbe1  Rousselot  says  :  dweryer  as 
Larousse. 

AIE. — Is  long  and  open  sound  of  e  (grave)  :  raie, 
futaie,  etc. 

EY. — In  whiskey  has  e  open:  e,  also  in  b^y,  Guer- 
nes^y,  Jersey,  Bru^ys  (bru-ess),  Talleyrand-Peri- 
gord :  ta-le-ran.  In  other  cases  generally  e  acute : 
Oylan,  ass^yez-vous,  etc. 

El. — As  e  grave :  reine,  Seine,  seigle,  seize,  treize, 
beige,  peigne,  etc. 

EAL — As  e  acute  in  je  voyageai,  mangeai,  jugeai, 
also  in  geai. 

In  demang^m'son  and  eais,  eait,  eaient  (verbs),  has 
open  sound  of  e:  je  mang^ais,  tu  mang^m's,  il  man- 
g^att,  ils  mang^afent. 

EAU. — as  6  in  English  :  beau,  chapeau,  etc. 

NOTE. — AU  is  short  in  Paul,  aussi,  aussitot,  pau- 
piere,  augmenter,  austere,  Austerlitz,  Haussmann, 
aurore,  sauf,  but  long  in  sauve,  in  other  words  au 
initial  or  medial  is  long  before  feminine  syllables  and 
in  endings  aux. 

COMBINED  VOWELS. 

EO. — In  geole,  geolier,  flageolet,  rougeole,  Georges, 
the  g  is  soft  and  e  is  silent. 

IE  final,  e  is  silent:  partis,  sortie,  also  in  je  pri^rai, 
.•suppli^rai,,  e.tc. 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  IQ 

EU,  OEU  has  4  sounds  of  eu:  eu,  oeu,  oe  in  oeil,  in 
endings  ueil. 

Eu  as  e  in  jeune. 

EU,  OEU  (i  in  sir). — To  avoid  the  sounds  of  e  as- 
in  \e,  de}  ce,  you  advance  the  lips  while  rounding  them 
with  the  help  of  ^  in  sir  (no  r  sound),  you  explode  the 
long,  upward  eu,  the  lower  lip  slightly  downward. 
Practice  first  with  s,  then  other  consonants. 

Eu  is  closed  in  peu,  feu,  chartreuse,  berceuse, 
Meuse,  deux,  or  plural  endings :  yeux,  ceux,  oeu/^ 
and  boeu/s  (fs  silent),  bleu,  bleus,  bleue,  lieue,  lieu, 
jeuner,  dejeuner. 

Eu  open  in  seul,  fiVwve,  o^wvre,  ftewr,  neui,  heure, 
b^wrre,  plusi^wrs,  ailleurs. 

Eu  medium  in  h<?wreux,  Ewrope,  generally  before  a 
sonorous  syllable. 

-Eu  is  u  in  eu  (avoir),  eue,  in  gageure,  j'eus,  tu  eus, 
il  cut,  nous  eumes,  vous  eutes,  ils  eurent,  que  j'eusse, 
que  tu  eusses,  qu'il  cut,  que  nous  eussions,  que  vous 
eussiez,  qu'ils  eussent. 

EUR  in  monsieur :  me-si-eu,  or  in  the  plural. 

OEU  as  eu :  oeuf ,  noeud,  soeur,  coeur,  choeur,  e{c. 

OE  :eu  in  Goethe ;  in  other  cases  is  e  acute :  (Edipe, 
(xsophage,  cecumenique. 

OU 

as  oo  in  English:  tout,  sou,  boue,  atout,  loup,  ou,  ou, 
boule,  Louvre,  rouge;  advance  lips  while  rounding 
them. 

OU  medium  in  gowrte,  langowste,  bourse,  sowrce, 
bowc,  crowte,  owtre,  cowpe,  trowpe,  mousse,  powce, 
Dili !,  bowche,  fowle,  trouble,  owbli. 


2O  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

Diphthongs  :  oi,  ui,  oui  and  oe  ? 

OI  was  used  frequently  in  the  imperfect  and  con- 
ditional: j'avois,  je  dirois,  also  in  foible,  roide,  har- 
nois,  etc. 

To-day  ai  is  used  instead  of  above  examples. 

OI  (o-a,  long  o  with  short  a)  in  moi,  toi,  soi,  loi, 
foi,  roi,  froid,  trois,  mois,  pois,  etc. 

OI  medium  in  voix,  choix,  une  fois,  Gaulois,  je 
dois,  bourgeois,  etc. 

OI  open  in  poivre,  coiffeur,  turquoise,  bourgeoise, 
boire,  soir,  poire,  noir;  in  endings  oive:  que  je  recoive, 
etc. 

OI  in  oignon,  poigne,  poignard,  the  i  is  silent. 

OI  in  roide,  roideur,  roidir,  we  write  now  raide 
(re-de),  etc. 

Oa  sound  in  m^lle  ;  oa  long  in  poele. 

UI  (U-I) 

U  is  very  long,  then  part  the  lips  for  i:  lui,  luisant, 
luire,  fuir,  stfivre,  cuivre,  Juif,  juive,  cuisine,  cuir, 
suisse,  suite,  suivi,  suicide,  suie,  truite,  les  Tuileries. 

UI  in  a  few  words  with  g:  gu-i  in  le  due  de  Guise, 
aiguille  (ay-gu-ee-ye),  aiguiser,  in  other  cases  ui  is 
not  a  diphthong:  qui,  guitare,  guide,  Guy,  quitte,  etc. 

OUI 

OUI  (6o-i)  in  Louis,  Louise,  jouir,  re"jouir,  oui,  joui,  r6- 
joui,  e"blouir,  £bloui,  oui'r,  etc. 

-ouille  final  in  many  words:  (oo-eeye)  houille,  fouille, 
rouille,  grenouille,  etc. 

DICTATION  on  diphthongs  (omitting  nasal  vowels 
which  will  be  our  next  study)  : 


AND   PRACTICAL   PHONETICS  21 

aiie !,  bourgeois,  la  Pleiade,  je  priai,  le  fabliau,  plie, 
pied,  priere,  Dieu,  violer,  chiourme,  piano,  ionique, 
diurne,  boa,  Noailles,  moelle,  poele,  roi,  Edouard, 
Douai,  rastaquouere,  roue,  noueux,  Louise,  fouine, 
suave,  Suetone,  Bossuet,  ils  suerent,  Samuel,  lueur, 
fruit,  yacht,  hyene. 

VOYELLES  NASALES  (nasal  vowels)  are  only  four: 
an,  en ;  -in,  ein,  ain,  en ;  on;  um,  un,  eun.  Others  can 
be  classified  under  this  division.  See  Nasal  Vowels 
pages  21-26. 

NOTE. — Diphthongs  may  become  nasal;  viande, 
Vienne,  lion,  point,  Roanne,  louange,  Rouen,  mar- 
souin,  trouons,  Juan,  juin,  excluons. 

Two  m  or  n  weakens  the  nasal  sounds. 

An,  am,  en,  em  generally  as  an  in  want. 

In,  im,  ain,  aim,  yn,  ym,  ein  .as  an  in  anger  ( no  g 
sound). 

On,  om  as  on  in  long. 

Un,  um  are  more  difficult.  Un  like  the  colloquial 
nasalized  sound  er  often  used  for  "  what?"  between 
children,  when  they  wish  anything  repeated. 

NASAL  VOWELS. 

After  having  reviewed  the  simple  vowels  and  their 
union  we  will  study  the  same  vowels  when  they  are 
nasalized  with  n  or  m  in  the  same  syllable. 

NASALIZED  VOWEL  SOUNDS:  an,  am  (aen),  en,  em; 
in,  im,  ain,  aim,  ein,  eim,  yn,  ym ;  on,  om ;  un,  um,  eun ; 
their  nasal  quality  is  produced  only  when  those  nasal 
vowels  are  followed  by  a  different  consonant  or  at 
the  end  of  a  word. 


22  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

NOTE. — Followed  by  another  n,  or  m,  the  latter  de- 
stroys the  nasal  quality. 

Few  words  are  exceptions :  ennui,  t'wnuyer,  cm- 
mener,  ennoblir,  rewmener,  ewmagasiner ;  also  in 
enivrer,  enorgueillir,  where  em  or  en  are  nasal. 

AN. — Open  the  mouth  as  if  to  pronounce  a  broad, 
then  explode  a  long  nasal  resonance  under  the  roof 
of  the  mouth. 

NOTE. — No  g  sound  in  an,  etc.  Practice  first  with 
san,  (an  in  want),  then  prolong  san,  san,  repeatedly, 
till  an  comes  naturally. 

Fran(c),  ban(c),  blan(c),  plan,  dance,  lance, 
gran(d),  savan(t),  Alleman(d),  an,  dan(s),  ran(g), 
san(g). 

An  is  ann  in  few  English  words :  alderman,  police- 
man, etc. 

AN  followed  by  a,  e,  i,  o,  u,  y  is  not  nasal :  ane, 
platane,  or  h  silent:  sanhedrin  (sa-ne-drin). 

AN  is  nasal  in  20  ways :  aen,  an,  anc,  and,  ang,  ans, 
ant,  ants,  aon,  ean,  em,  emp,  emps,  empt,  en,  end,  ens, 
ent,  han,  hen. 

AN  is  a-n  in  annee,  anneau,  canne,  Jeanne,  Lau- 
sanne. 

AN  not  nasal  in  manne  (long  a)  :  in  annoter,  an- 
nexe, awnales,  annuaire,  awnuite,  annuler  an  is  weak. 

AEN  like  an,  in  Ca^n,  Saint-Sams  (sanss). 

EN  (as  an) 

EN  also  -ent,  end  like  an  in  enfant,  Rou^n,  vrnte, 
Saint-Ouen,  science,  patience,  patient,  differed. 
E.NT  is  an  in  adjectives,  nouns  and  adverbs. 


AND   PRACTICAL   PHONETICS  23 

Exceptions. — en  with  n  is  not  nasal :  n^raii,  h^wnir, 
sotewnel;  as  na-ni,  a-nir,  so-la-nel. 

EN  as  an  open  e  in  many  words  (enn  or  i<?wn)  : 
Ard^wnes,  Etkwne,  la  nwwne,  la  ti^wne,  la  sienne  (in 
the  plural  also),  ils  vi^wnent,  ils  tkwnent,  etc. 

EN  as  in  in  Benjamin,  agenda,  exaiww,  sewsorium, 
p^wtagone,  la  P<?wtateuque,  app^wdice,  benzine,  Men- 
tor, P^wthievre,  Agen. 

NOTE. — ien  is  i-in  in  bi^w,  rien,  mien,  tien,  s\en,  je 
v'\ens,  tu  viens,  il  vient,  je  ti<?ws,  tu  ti^ws,  il  tient,  je 
vi^wdrai,  tu  vi^wdras,  *il  vi^wdra,  tiendrai,  -as,  -a,  etc., 
also  in  many  French  names  or  Foreign  names  ending 
in  -ien  or  een:  Julien,  Vendeen,  Enghien  (an-ghin-). 

EN  as  enn  in  amen,  abdoiww,  hym^w,  poll^w,  speci- 
men,  and  other  foreign  words. 

NOTE. — Hym^w  as  in  and  enn ;  as  it  is  doubtful. 

ENT. —  In  verbs  (third  pers.  plural),  n  is  silent 
t  may  be  linked.  Ils  aiment  a  jouer. 

AM 

AM  followed  by  a  vowel  is  not  nasal :  ame,  Ame- 
ricain,  awitie,  ami,  amour,  amuser. 

AM  final  is  sounded  in  Abraham,  Cham,  Priam, 
etc. 

Exceptions:  Adaw,  quidaw,  dam:  a-dan,  etc. 

AM  followed  by  n  or  m  is  as  m  in  amnistie,  etc., 
dawner  and  its  derivatives  are  excepted:  da-nay,  etc. 

AM  before  b  or  p  always  nasal :  ambulance,  am- 
putation, etc. 

AM  before  me,  ma,  mo  is  not  nasal  when  medial : 
epigramme,  gramme,  also  in  adverbs,  constamment, 
etc. 


24  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

MM  is  heard  in  grawwaire,  gramwaticale,  graw- 
matiste. 

EM 

EM  is  a  in  f emme  and  adverbs :  prudemment,  re- 
cemment,  etc. 

EM  is  e  open  in  Emma.,  dilemme,  ad  rew. 

EM  is  an  in  emmagasiner,  ewmener. 

EMB  or  EMP  initial  or  medial,  the  em  is  on  in  most 
words :  empire,  tempete,  temps,  cmbleme,  Lux- 
embourg, etc. 

EM  in  a  few  words  is  ain  as  in  sempiternel,  Rem- 
brandt (Larousse  says  ran-bran). 

EM  is  ? mm  final  or  medial :  item,  Jerusalem,  de- 
cewvir,  also  in  indewne :  in-dem-ne. 

EM  followed  by  vowel  is  heard  separately :  sewer 
(se-mer),  remords,  etc. 

IN 

IN  as  an  in  anger.  Practice  first  with  s  in  avoiding 
g  sound,  then  repeatedly:  sin,  s-in  as  if  striking  the 
keys  on  a  piano. 

NOTE. — The  back  part  of  the  tongue  slightly  ap- 
proaches the  soft  palate. 

For  practice  pronounce  the  following  words :  vin, 
serein,  seing,  teint,  pain,  saint,  iaim,  je  craws,  tu 
crams,  il  craint,  je  terns,  tu  teiws,  il  tewt,  je  vamcs,  tu 
vamcs,  il  vaiwc,  Rew/ts,  thyw,  s^wtaxe,  il  vmt,  iwstmct, 
vwgt,  or  vmgts,  cmq  (francs),  tu  vws,  Charles-Quwt. 

Je  tiens,  tu  tiens,  il  tient,  rien,  impossible,  Vendeew, 
Europee«,  Mewtor. 


AND   PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  25 

IN  is  not  nasal  before  vowels  or  h  mute:  Chine, 
cuisine,  inexact,  mhumain. 

IN  is  nasal  followed  by  any  other  consonant  than 
n:  vingt,  interet,  in- folio. 

IN  is  i  in  innocence  and  derivatives  -ment,  -ter,  in- 
nocent. 

INN  sounded  in  mwover,  -ation,  wwombrable. 

IM 

IM  is  nasal  when  followed  by  any  other  consonant 
than  m:  simple,  timbre,  etc. 

IM  not  nasal  between  two  vowels :  t-ma-ge,  centime. 

IMM  is  imm  when  initial :  immortel,  immeuble,  etc. 

IM(m)  is  ain  in  a  few  words:  immesurable,  imm 
or  ain  in  immanquable,  immangeable. 

IM  is  not  nasal  at  the  end  of  a  few  foreign  words : 
interim,  Grimm. 

AIN  AIM 

AIN  final  is  nasal :  pain,  saint,  maint. 
AIN  is  ene  before  vowels :  haiwe,  same. 
AIM  is  nasal  in  iaim,  daim,  etc. 
AIM  is  erne  in  aimant,  j'aime. 

YN  YM 

YN,  YM  are  nasal  in  many  words:  syntaxe,  sym- 
bole,  syndic,  s^nthese,  s^mptome,  etc, 

YN,  YM  not  nasal  between  vowels :  synagogue, 
dynastic,  homonywe,  or  before  n,  gymnase,  etc. 

ON,  OM,  OMB,  OMP 

ON,  OM  long  in  sombre,  powpe,  aplomb,  Colomb 
(nob). 


26  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

ON,  OM  short  in  mon,  ton,  son,  nom,  surnom, 
prenom. 

NOTE. — one,  owe  long:  Saowe,  Rhone,  zone,  atome 
etc. 

ON,  ONT,  OND,  ONS,  ONC  long:  bronze,  bonfe, 
bond,  ayons,  done,  jonc. 

ON,  OM  not  nasal  before  a  vowel  or  m  or  n:  Bona- 
parte, downer,  comment,  Rome,  automne  (m  silent). 

UN,  UM,  HUM 

UN,  UM,  UN(D),  OT(T)  nasal:  un,  parfum, 
\undi,  humble,  defunt. 

UM  is  om  in  Latin  or  English  words :  humbug, 
pensum,  possum,  rumsteck  or  romsteck,  album,  rhwm. 

NOTE. — Um  is  on  nasal  in  Humbert;  also  un  is  on: 
de  profundis,  punch,  secundo,  jungle,  etc. 

UN,  UM,  before  a  vowel,  not  nasal :  wne,  parfw- 
merie,  etc. 

UN  is  u-n  in  tunnel  (tu-nell). 

CONSONANTS  AND  THEIR  PRONUNCIATION. 

B  is  labial  and  heard  softly:  be. 

C  is  explosive  before  a,  o,  u  and  pronounced  k :  ka, 
ko,  ku ;  the  c  with  cedilla  before  a,  o,  u  is  s :  sa,  so,  su. 

C  followed  by  e,  i,  y  is  pronounced  s. 

D  is  lingual  and  dental :  de. 

F  labial :  f  e. 

G  lingual  and  palatal  is  soft  before  e  or  i :  ge. 

Gue  called  hard  g  before  a,  o,  u  is  voiced  strongly : 
ga,  go,  gu. 

H  slightly  audible  when  aspirate  is  guttural  in  a  few 
words :  he. 


AND   PRACTICAL   PHONETICS  2/ 

J  identical  with  soft  g:  je  and  before  any  vowel. 

K  used  only  in  a  few  words  is  explosive  and  back 
palatal :  ke. 

You  must  breathe  hard  upon  the  vowel. 

L  (sonorous,  prolonged  tongue-point  sound)  :  le. 

M  labial  and  nasal  sound  with  lips  pressed  together : 
me. 

N  (nasal  dental  sound)  :  ne. 

Any  vowel  followed  by  two  consonants  of  which 
the  first  is  m  or  n  vibrates  in  the  nose  and  is  called 
nasal  vowel. 

P  labial  and  explosive :  pe ;  two  p's  are  voiced  as  one 
p  and  PH  (classical  origin)  is  heard  as  f. 

Que. — The  q  is  usually  followed  by  u  and  is  ex- 
plosive :  ke. 

R  (classical  r)  has  a  vibration  more  or  less  pro- 
longed from  the  tip  of  the  tongue  and  upper  front 
teeth:  re. 

In  Paris  this  sound  is  preferred  in  singing  and  elo- 
cution. 

R  (the  re  modern  or  grasseye)  is  uttered  under  the 
roof  of  the  mouth  without  any  help  from  the  tip  of 
the  tongue. 

NOTE. — The  L  and  R  are  often  liquefied  because 
they  run  smoothly  with  other  consonants  such  as  b, 
c,  g,  p. 

S  is  sonant  or  buzzing  in  rose,  surd  or  continuable 
in  gratis. 

This  sibilant  or  hissing  sound  is  frequent  in  French. 
As  if  to  whistle  we  press  the  tip  of  the  tongue  against 
the  teeth :  se. 

T  when  explosive  has  a  front-lingual  or  tongue-tip 
sound:  te. 


28  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

V  has  a  fricative  or  continuous  labial  sound  in :  ve. 

W  is  not  a  French  letter ;  in  some  English  words  it 
is  pronounced  oo  or  v;  in  German  words  as  v. 

X  has  no  sound  by  itself:  it  has  the  sound  of  s  in 
Bruxelles,  dix,  six;  of  z  in  dix-sept,  dix-huit,  dix- 
neuf;  of  c  in  exception;  of  gz  in  exact,  exode,  etc.; 
of  ks  in  luxe,  etc. 

Z  is  a  sonant  sibilant  like  s  in  rose :  ze. 

Ch  is  k  in  Christ,  cholera,  chretien,  etc.,  and  sh  in 
machine,  cher,  chapeau,  etc. ;  silent  in  almanach. 

Gn  (lingual  and  palatal)  'is  heard  g-n  in  stagnant, 
agnosticisme,  Agnus ;  gn  initial  is  aspirated  in  gnosti- 
que,  gnome ;  gn  medial  is  generally  ni  in  union :  the 
tip  of  the  tongue  is  at  rest  while  the  back  part  of  the 
tongue  adheres  firmly  to  the  roof  of  the  mouth.  The 
sudden  separation  produces  the  sound  of  gne  as  in 
Champagne,  signe,  Allemagne,  etc. 

CONSONANTS. 

B,  c,  d,  g,  p,  t,  called  consonnes  momentanees,  are 
pronounced  sharply;  in  Poetry  they  may  be  used  to 
express  noise  or  anger : 

Dors-tu  content,  Voltaire,  et  ton  Mdeux  sourire,  etc. 

M  and  N 

like  the  nasal  vowels  are  lengthened  and  produce  a 
soft  quality :  maman. 

L  (11  liquid) 

is  an  old  appellation  now  rendered  by  ye  short ;  these 
liquids,  as  the  name  implies,  tend  to  unite  with  other 
consonants. 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  29 

«  , 

F  and  V  (Spirants) 
S,  Z,  CH,  J  (fricative,  continuous) 

S  and  Z  of  frequent  use  in  French,  require  as  a 
starting  point  of  articulation  a  hissing  sound  capable 
of  expressing  strong  feelings. 

B 

maintains  nearly  always  its  articulation.     Few  excep- 
tions :  Lefebvre,  Colomb,  plomb  as  b  is  silent. 

C 

C  before  a,  o,  u  is  ka,  ko,  ku. 

C  before  a,  o,  u  is  sa,  so,  su. 

C  before  e,  i,  y  is  se,  si. 

C  is  g  in  second  and  k  in  Czar,  also  Tsar. 

C  at  the  end  of  the  word  is  k:  Languedoc. 

NOTE. — C  silent  in  croc,  accroc,  marc,  pore. 

C  in  ac  like  ak,  except  in  estomac,  tabac. 

C  final  is  k:  sec,  avec,  but  not  in  echecs. 

C  final  in  ic  (ik)  :  silent  in  eric,  not  in  eric  crac. 

C  final  in  uc  is  uk:  Luc. 

C  final  heard  in  -inc,  euc,  ouc,  except  in  caoutchouc. 

C  preceded  by  s,  I,  r  is  heard  generally :  arc,  etc., 
but  not  in  clerc,  marc,  pore. 

Ch  is  k  in  drac/ime,  c/zoeur,  but  silent  in  almanac/i. 

Ch  like  sh  in  most  ordinary  words :  c/iemise, 
mac/iine. 

D 

D  final  is  heard  in  proper  names :  David,  not  in 
Gounod. 

D  silent  in  endings  -rd:  Edouard;  -and:  Allemand. 
Also  in  -ond,  Edmond;  -aud,  Renaud;  -oud,  St.  Cloud. 


3O  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

In  adjectives,  verbs  or  adverbs :  second/,  froidT,  sied, 
quand. 

D  final  is  heard  as  t  in  liaisons :  grand  ami. 

F  (PH) 

F  initial  as  in  English:  /ils  (fiss),  fete,  etc. 

F  is  v  in  liaisons:  neu/  amis  (neu-vami),  neu/ 
hommes,  etc.  But  not  before  months:  neuf/aout. 
Some  Parisians  say:  neuf/amis. 

F  is  silent  in  chef  d'  oeuvre  (she-deuvr),  oeu/s, 
boeu/s,  cer/s,  ner/s,  cer/-volant,  boeu/  gras. 


G  is  j  before  e,  i,  y:  <?ilet,  voyage,  ^rymnase. 

NOTE. — In  some  foreign  words  g  is  hard :  Gibbons, 
etc. 

G  hard  before  a,  o,  ou,  u:  grargon,  Condole,  #oujon, 
vin/ule;  also  before  the  other  consonants  except  n. 

NOTE. — In  Italian  words  ghetto,  etc. ;  in  Eng/nen. 
ghien  is  ghin. 

GN  (liquid)  in  most  words;  tip  of  the  tongue  in- 
active while  the  back  part  of  it  adheres  closely  to  the 
roof  of  the  mouth,  and  then  their  sudden  separation 
produces  a  French  gne. 

Ex.  signe,  \\gne,  si^w^r,  regner. 

G-N  divided  in  Agnus,  dia^wostique,  cognition, 
cognation,  <7«ome,  igne,  physiognomic,  inexpugnable, 
recognition,  stat/nante. 

GUE,  GUA,  GUer  as  ghe,  gha,  ghe  in  blague, 
\Aagua,  bla^w^r,  longue,  lon^rw^ur,  etc. 

GUI  (ghee)  in  gui,  guide,  guider,  Guy,  anguille, 
guillotine, 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  31 

NOTE. — In  arguer  (gu-er),  Guise,  aiguille  and  its 
derivatives,  linguiste,  g-u  is  separated  in  Vogue,  also 
in  lingual  (goo-al),  Guadeloupe,  Gwatemala,  e^Mateur, 
egwation,  Quaker,  gwantum,  quartz,  gwatuor. 

Gueu  (gheu)  in  gueux,  iougueux,  etc. 

G  silent  in  vim?t,  legs,  Luxembourg  sang,  hour*/, 
lon<7,  coiner,  etan^  faubourg  harem/,  ran<7,  seiner,  Re- 
ynard, but  is  linked  as  k:  long  espoir. 

G  is  hard  in  second,  seconde,  secondaire,  seconder, 
instead  of  c. 

H 

H  aspirate  at  page  65.  The  h  aspirate  is  never 
heard  in  literary  French.  It  merely  prevents  elision : 
la/haine,  les/heros,  etc. 

H  medial  is  generally  silent :  le  r/mme,  1'arit/tme- 
tique,  isthme,  Goth,  Visigoth,  asthme,  also  in  Mac- 
bel/t,  Ruth. 

NOTE. — In  the  following  cases,  the  liaison  is  not 
possible.  O  is  (h)o  in  le/oui,  le/onze,  la/ouate,  le  or 
la/onzieme,  also  in  le/un,  le/yard,  le/yacht,  le/yatagan. 

CH  is  sh  in  chose,  c/nrurgie,  chat,  c/tasser,  AcMlle, 
arc/zidiacre,  c/nmere,  arcMtecte,  sc/iisme,  schema,, 
schooner,  etc. 

CH  is  k  in  chaos,  lichen,  c/nromancie,  arc/nepis- 
copal,  chretien,  cholera.,  Chaldeen,  Christ,  Bacchus, 
Cham,  choeur,  Mic/iel-Ange,  loc/i,  R.och,  Munich. 

NOTE. — CH  silent  in  almanach. 

PH  is  /:  philosophie,  Joseph,  phtisie,  etc. 

TH  is  t  in  the,  theatre,  Theodore ;  silent  in  asthme, 
isthme,,  Goth. 


32  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

J  (ge,  gi) 

J  (zh)  in  /adis,  /amais,  /e,  /'irai,  ;'ose,  /'use,  ;'y 
vais,  etc. 

NOTE. — G  is  /  in  #eai,  and  in  verbs  in  -#er. 

K 

K  is  hard  in  &ilo,  kilogramme,  &ermesse,  &iosque, 
fcirsh,  etc. 

NOTE. — Qu  is  k  in  qui,  qualite,  question,  que,  mar- 
que,  Inquisition,  quasi,  Quasimodo,  e<//nlibre,  qua.- 
rante,  guinzieme,  cinguante,  also  in  cinq,  coq,  or  in  g 
linked,  etc.,  or  c  and  ch  in  due,  bloc,  loch. 

L 

L  initial  is  /:  /e,  /'ami,  fhomme,  /es,  etc. 

LL  is  never  a  liquid  at  the  beginning  of  a  word : 
i//ustre  etc. 

L  or  LL  may  or  may  not  be  liquid. 

NOTE. — Lh  is  liquid  in  Mi//an  or  Mi//ian,  etc.,  or  in 
genti//iomme. 

L  is  silent  in  genti/,  fusi/,  outi/,  sourci/,  bari/,  cheni/. 
persi/,  nombri/,  couti/,  gri/,  fi/s,  sou/,  fourni/,  pou/s, 
fau/x,  and  in  La  Rochefoucau/d,  Be/fort  (be-fore), 
etc. 

NOTE. — In  avri/,  babi/,  gri/,  gresi/,  mi/,  peri/,  the  / 
may  or  may  not  be  pronounced. 

Fils  aine:  ^  is  linked  as  ss  ( fi^-^ai-ne ) . 

L  final  is  heard  in  fi/,  ci/,  ba/,  col,  bo/,  mo/,  so/, 
seu/,  cheva/,  genera/,  mie/,  nu/,  calcu/,  linceu/,  vi/, 
filleu/,  aieu/  (a-i-eul). 

/4/L,  or  ot//f,  is  a-ye  in  final  words :  travail.  Ver- 
sailles, rail,  etc, 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  33 

EIL,  or  eille  (<?-ye)  :  soleil,  Marseilles,  etc. 

NOTE. — Also  euil,  ueil  as  eu-ye:  recueil,  recueille, 
cercueil,  etc. 

ILL  generally  ye  in:  vam7/e,  u7/eul,  ft7/e,  farm7/e, 
bt//e,  bi//ard,  bt7/et,  quadn7/e,  aigm7/e,  Carm7/e,  cedt7/e, 
bom7/on,  etc. 

NOTE. — Carm7/e,  scinto7/er  may  be  pronounced  with 
or  without  liquid  sound. 

ILL  sounded  in  ville,  village,  vi//ageois,  rm7/e, 
mi/(no.),  mi7/ion,  pupi//e,  Acht7/e,  vaudevi//e,  baci//e, 
disU//er,  osci//er,  vaci//er,  tranqui//e,  codici//e,  il,  bill, 
exi/,  profit^  subti7,  vin7. 

NOTE. — LL  preceded  by  a,  e,  o,  u,  not  liquids :  ba//e, 
sy//abe,  co//e,  etc. 

///  initial  not  liquids :  i//uminer,  etc. 

UIL  is  u-ye  in  jm71et  (zhu-i-e),  also  //  liquid  in  jon- 
q;«71e,  aigt«71e,  cm71er,  angwi/le,  qm71e. 

LL  is  /  in  co//ege,  co//ation,  etc.,  except  in  co//ectif. 
and  derivatives  co//iger,  co//ocation,  co//oque,  colli- 
sion. 

M 

M  initial  or  between  vowels  is  m:  matin,  midi,  muse, 
semer,  etc. 

NOTE. — In  foreign  words :  item,  idem,  decemvir, 
opium,  triumvir,  Bethleem,  Sew,  Cham,  Potsdam,  also 
in  maw'selle  or  mam'zelle  (colloquially)  :  Exceptions: 
Adaw,  dam. 

MM  is  m  in  comme,  comment,  homme,  femme,  com- 
merce, commis,  etc. 

Except  in  Emma,  Emmanuel,  ammoniac,  commen- 
taire.  commotion,  commuable.  commemoratif,  fde.- 


34  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

rivatives),  commensal,  commiseration,  sommite,  gram- 
maire,  and  its  derivatives. 

I  MM  initial :  mm  are  sounded :  immeuble,  etc. 

NOTE. — /mmanquable,  tmmangeable,  the  im  may  or 
may  not  be  nasal. 

M  before  n  is  sounded :  calomnie,  indemne,  etc. 

NOTE. — M  in  damner,  condamner,  automne,  is  silent. 

M  before  b,  p,  t  is  long  nasal :  sombre,  pompe, 
comte. 

Emm  initial  is  an:  ^mmener,  etc. 

Emm  is  a-m  in  adverbs :  prud^mment,  etc.,  and  in 
femme. 

NOTE. — Not  in  dilemme,  gemme,  \emmt,  Emma.,  etc. 

M  (see  nasal  vowels)  is  nasal  when  final:  now, 
prenow,  surnom,  pronom,  parfum,  etc. 

N 

N  (see  nasal  vowels)  initial  or  between  vowels  is 
n:  weuf,  Canada,  Pawama. 

NOTE. — Ewivrer  and  derivatives  are  exceptions. 

N  in  ewt:  3rd  pers.  plural  is  silent,  but  t  may  be 
linked :  ils  aimewf  a  rire,  ils  expedient,  etc. 

N.  in  nouns,  adjectives,  adverbs  is  nasal:  vent, 
patiewt,  vraiment,  momewt,  souvewt,  expedient,  etc. 

N  in  biew  and  riew  may  be  linked :  bien  ecrire,  ne 
rien  ajouter. 

N  nasal  followed  by  any  other  consonant :  encre, 
etang,  chawt,  etc. 

NOTE. — See  nasal  vowels  when  weak,  short,  long. 

N  in  en  is  a:  solennel  and  derivatives,  h^miir,  nenni. 

N  in  en  is  heard  in  a  few  words:  amrw,  abdomen, 
,  etc. 


AND   PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  35 

N  nasal  is  linked  with  following  word  beginning 
with  h  or  vowel :  en  ami,  en  ecrivant,  mow  ami,  ton 
ami,  sow  ami. 

NOTE. — In  liaisons  it  is  preferable  to  say :  bo-wami 
instead  of  bow  ami  or  bow  na-mi. 

NN  may  or  may  not  be  sounded  as  double  con- 
sonants. 

NN  is  n  in  dowwer,  je  dowwe,  il  towwe,  etc.  The 
nasal  sound  is  weak. 

Enn  initial  is  an  long:  ennui,  ennoblir  and  deriva- 
tives. 

NOTE. — Enn  is  enn  in  ennerai. 

Remarks  on  the  linking  of  w.  It  is  linked  when  two 
words  are  closely  connected  in  meaning:  mow  enfant, 
etc.,  but  not  in  c'est  bow  a  manger. 

Ce  livre  n'est  pas  biew  ecrit,  but  not  in  ce  biew  est 
a  lui. 
'  J'ew  ai  un,  not  in  donnez-lui  ew  un. 

Ow  entend,  ew  ont-ils,  vous  ew  avez,  etc. 

L'uw  et  1'autre,  not  in  uw  et  uw  font  deux. 

Je  n'ai  riew  achete,  but  not  in  vous  ne  devez  riew  a 
personne. 

NN  doubled  is  w  in  awwee,  iwwocent,  ewwemi,  awwi- 
versaire,  awwoncer ;  in  other  cases  it  is  aww:  awwuel,  etc. 

NOTE. — Ewwui,  ewwoblir,  iwwomme :  long  nasal. 

N  in  verbs  3rd  pers.  singular  is  an  in  ment,  but 
ee-ain  in  viewt,  tiewt,  soutiewt,  etc.,  le  siew,  le  miew,  le 
tiew;  except  in  the  feminine  singular  and  plural :  la 
miewne,  les  tiewnes  and  in  viewnent,  etc. 

N  in  mowsieur  silent:  me-sieu. 

N  in  -yew:  moyew,  doyew,  as  i-ien  (see  biew,  riew). 

EN  in  adjectives,  nouns,  nasal  an:  adher^wt,  afflu- 


36  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

ent,  coincident,  convergent,  couvent,  content,  diver- 
gent, equivalent,  excellent,  expedient,  negligent,  presi- 
dent, parent,  resident,  violent. 

N  in  compound  words  is  an:  enivrer,  ennuyer,  en- 
orgueillir. 

No.  is  for  numero. 

Note  that  in  certain  groups  of  words  quickly  pro- 
nounced as :  je  ne  sais  pas  cela,  the  je  and  ne  be- 
come united:  j'nsepahcela.  Also  in  renter  (yod)  re- 
ni-er;  see  gn,  ign,  nh  (in  words  from  the  South  of 
France)  as  liquids. 

On,  en  as  pronouns  are  linked  when  preceding  the 
verb,  not  after  it. 

Elles  en  ont,  on  est  amis,  donnez-lui  en  un  peu. 

O  (aspirate) 

By  aspirate  o  we  mean  that  no  elision  nor  linking 
is  permissible  in  le  oui,  le  onze,  or  la  onzieme,  le  on- 
zieme,  la  ouate. 

Dites  oui  ou  non ;  les  onze  chapitres,  etc. 

P 

P  is  silent  at  the  end  of  words :  tro/>,  beaucou/>, 
cam/),  champ,  etc. 

P  initial  and  medial  is  sounded :  />apa,  />euple, 
/>saume  />seudonyme,  etc. 

P  medial  before  a  dental  is  silent :  anaba/>tisme,  -iste, 
ba/Jteme,  -iser,  -ismal,  -istaire,  -iste,  istere,  ce/>  de  vigne 
(ce/»  before  a  vowel),  che/>tel,  com^tabilite,  constable, 
constant,  com/»te,  -er,  -eur,  -able,  dom/>ter,  -able,  -eur, 
exempt,  -er,  scutyter,  -e,  -eur,  -ural,  -ure,  se/>t,  -ieme. 

NOTE. — accepter,  exce/^ter  and  derivatives  the  p  is 


AND   PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  37 

heard;  also  in  adoptif,  -ion,  captieux,  redempteur, 
-ion,  reptile,  septante,  -ieme,  -embre,  -emvir,  -ennaire, 
-ennal,  -entrion,  -al,  -uagenaire,  -egisme. 

Assomption,  corruption,  sce/>tique,  relays,  biceps, 
sym/>t6me,  presomptif,  somptueux,  rapsodie,  im- 
promptu, the  p  is  sounded. 

P  in  trop,  beaucou/*  is  linked  with  little  stress :  beau- 
cou/>  aime. 

P.  P.  C.  means  pour  prendre  conge. 

NOTE. — P  is  sounded  in  Gap,  jalap,  julep,  ca/>;  p  in 
camp,  champ,  drap,  sirop,  is  silent  always. 

PP  is  one  p:  j'ai  appris  ma  leqon  (a-pri). 

PH  (aspirated  in  Greek)  is  heard  in  French  as  f: 
/>/zare,  etc. 

Q 

Q  is  always  followed  by  u:  que,  qui,  quoique,  que\, 
gwelle,  gMel^we,  ^wel^Mefois,  etc. 

NOTE. — Q  final  is  sounded  in  cin^,  cog;  q  in  cin<?  is 
silent  before  nouns  beginning  h  aspirate  or  a  con- 
sonant :  cin^  heros,  cing  livres.  Before  months  the 
q  is  k:  le  cing  decembre  or  in  cing  pour  cent  (5%), 
etc.  Before  a  vowel  or  h  mute  g  in  cing  is  k:  cing 
eleves,  etc.,  also  in  le  cing  de  trefle,  etc. 

The  g  silent  in  cog  d'Inde. 

QU  may  be  koo,  ke,  ki,  ku:  agwatigwe  (a-koo-ah- 
tik)  ;  ke  or  ki  in  gwe,  gwi ;  ku  or  k  in  egwestre  (e-ku- 
estr  or  ekestr). 

QU  is  koo  initial  in  gwadragenaire,  -gesimal,  -ge- 
sime,  -ngulaire,  -trice,  -ture,  -ifige,  -lateral,  -syllabe, 
-umane,  -pede,  -pie,  -pier,  gwaker,  gwantum,  gwassia, 
gwater,  -nernaire,  -erne,  gwatuor,  and  a  few  others. 


38  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

Qu  initial  is  ka  in  gwadrille,  quai,  quatite  and  de- 
rivatives, quand,  quant,  g«antieme,  gwantite,  guaran- 
taine,  gwarante,  and  derivatives,  quart,  -ier,  quasi, 
-modo,  gwatorze,  -ieme,  gwatre,  -ieme,  -ment. 

QU  is  ki  in  qui,  gwidam,  gwicongwe,  quille,  quinine, 
pittance  and  derivatives,  ^wi-vive?  ingwisition,  in- 
gwiet,  with  derivatives,  agwilon,  liquids,  cogwille,  mar- 
quis,  -e,  etc. 

QUIN  initial  is  kain  in  quinze,  -aine,  quintal,  quinte, 
quintessence  and  derivatives;  gwmcaille  and  deriva- 
tives ;  gwmconce,  Charles- Qwiwt,  quinteux,  St.  Thomas 
d'Aquin. 

Quin  in  other  words  is  ku-in:  ^wmtuple,  Quinqua.- 
gesime,  etc. 

Qu  in  verbs  is  k:  fabrigwer,  margwer,  embar^wer, 
eti^weter,  gwalifier,  gwereller,  ligwefier,  and  in  nouns 
derived  from  them :  fabrigwe,  marine,  embargwement, 
etigwette,  gwalite,  gwerelle,  ligweur,  etc. 


R. — In  Elocution  and  in  singing  the  Parisians  re- 
quire the  Classical  r  or  the  r  trilled  very  forward  on 
the  tip  of  the  tongue  near  the  upper  teeth  and  caused 
by  pressure  of  air. 

R  (re  moderne)  tip  of  the  tongue1  touches  roof  of 
the  mouth  while  tongue  is  inactive  and  soft  palate 
moves  forward. 

It  is  the  Parisian  r:  grass  eye. 

It  is  palatal  not  throaty. 

Moliere  explains  the  classical  r  in  le  Bourgeois  Gen- 

tilhomme:  "en  portant  le  bout  de  la  langue  jusqu'au 

'bout  du  palais,  de  sorte  qu'etant  frolee  par  I' air  qui 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  39 

sort  avec  force,  elle  lui  cede  et  revient  toujours  au 
meme  endroit,  faisant  une  maniere  de  tremblement." 

R  final  is  heard  after  a,  i,  o,  u  and  sometimes  after 
0-:  par,  finir,  tresor,  pur,  amer,  Jupiter,  cuiller,  etc. 

NOTE. — Monsieur  (me-si-eu). 

R  in  -er  (verbs  of  ist  conj.)  is  e  acute:  parler, 
aimer,  etc. 

R  in  er  final  is  heard  preceded  by  ch,  f,  v,  m:  cher, 
mer,  ier,  vcr,  also  in  Iwr,  hiwr,  ner  (proud),  v^rs, 
env^rs,  divers,  -<?rs,  ^rt,  in  verbs:  je  conquers,  Tlwrs, 
ti^rs,  in  foreign  proper  names :  Luther,  rue  Aub^r, 
Schiller,  Quaker,  etc. 

R  or  er(s)  is  e  in  French  towns:  Angers,  Poitiers, 
Alg^r,  Montpellicr,  also  French  proper  names :  Bou- 
lang^r,  Cuvi^r  and  generally  in  common  nouns: 
coch^r,  boulang^r,  bouch^r,  roch^r,  pommi^r,  etc. 

NOTE. — In  polysyllabic  nouns  (or  adjectives  in  -ier) 
same  rule :  officer,  teinturi^r,  enti^r,  particuli^r^  etc. 

RR  medial  is  as  one  r:  interroger,  terre,  beurre, 
\eurre,  etc. 

NOTE. — Rr  heard  in  correct,  -ion,  corroborer,  corro- 
sif ;  in  errer,  errant,  erreur,  errone,  horrible,  horreur, 
torrent;  in  future  of  verbs:  coun'r,  moun'r,  acquen'r; 
je  courrai,  etc.,  also  in  trr  initial :  irriter,  trregulier,  etc. 

ER  initial  (never  sounded  urr  but  air)  in  syllables: 
<?rg,  ^rm,  ^rt,  -inter-,  perc-,  p^rd-,  peri-,  pers-,  pert-, 
serg-,  serp-,  sert-,  serv-,  verm-,  vert-,  verv-. 

NOTE. — This  simple  rule  covers  many  words  and 
should  be  specially  noted. 

R  in  conversation  with  verbs  of  ist  conjugation,  is 
not  linked:  aimer/a  chanter;  in  reading,  poetry,  or 
public  speaking  the  r  is  linked  before  a  vowel  or  h 
mute :  aimer  a  chanter,  etc. 


40  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

RH  (h  is  purely  etymological)  is  r:  r/mrrte*  rfceteuf. 

etc> 

S 

S  initial  before  c,  ch,  ci  is  not  heard  in  scene, 
schisme,  scie,  rebelling  (she-lain),  schema,  sceptre, 
sceau,  etc.,  also  in  descendre,  but  not  in  ascendance, 
ascension,  etc. 

S  is  z  between  two  vowels :  rose,  prose,  raser,  pre- 
sence, usage,  etc. 

NOTE. — 5  is  z  in  Alsace,  -icien,  transaction,  -iger, 
transi,  -ir,  transit,  -taire,  -itif,  -ition,  -itoire,  -alpin, 
-atlantique,  balsamique. 

S  is  not  z  in :  monosyllable,  desuetude,  parasol, 
polysyllabe,  preseance,  presupposer,  vraisemblable. 
tournesol,  soubresaut,  Lesage,  Lasalle. 

S  is  sounded  in  scorpion,  scandale,  squelette,  statue, 
scorbut,  etc. 

Also  in  the  following  words :  gratis,  bis,  atlas,  es, 
helas,  hiatus,  fils,  jadis,  Us  (not  in  fleur  de  Us),  pros- 
pectus, blocus,  chorus,  typhus,  moeurs,  (or  no  s-), 
oasis,  omnibus,  Venus,  lapis,  gens,  os,  sens,  ours,  us, 
tous  (pronoun),  Mars,  Ruy  Bias. 

NOTE. — In  linking  the  s  of  foreign  words,  the  s  (not 
z)  is  heard:  Venus  est  admirable  as  (Ve-nus  se  tad- 
mi-ra-ble)  ;  le  fils  est  aimable.  In  other  words  than 
the  above  words  the  s,  x,  z  are  linked  as  z: 

Ex. — Les  amis,  deu.r  a  deux,  alle^  a  la  banque. 

S  final  heard  only  in  connecting  next  word  begin- 
ning with  a  vowel  or  h  mute  has  the  sound  of  s: 
moins  age. 

S  is  generally  silent  in  endings  of  French  names : 
Francois,  Doubs,  Duclos,  Amiens,  St.  Denis,  Villars; 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  41 

also  in  common  words :  trow,  vers,  pas,  pays,  plus, 
alors,  dans,  sous,  gros,  gras,  jus,  hoif,  buis,  depens, 
debris,  pres,  cas,  cours,  mais,  tapis,  roulis,  avis,  des, 
pis,  palais, '  paradis,  precis,  proces,  tas,  tracas,  tiers, 
souris,  lors,  congres,  colons,  corps,  depuis,  niais.  refus. 
tamis,  moly,  jamai^,  foi^,  expre^,  colis,  las,  poidj, 
sourly  repoj,  repaj,  rama^,  radi^,  pui^. 

S  medial  is  silent  in  many  French  names  in  which 
the  s  is  followed  by  b,  c,  d,  g,  I,  Im,  n,  p,  q,  r,  t:  Des- 
cartes, les  Voj^es,  Rouget  de  I'lsle,  Du  Guesclin,  etc. 

NOTE. — Exceptions :  Brest,  Males^erbes  (mal- 
zairb),  Robe^ierre,  Gascon,  Boufe. 

Final  s  sounded  in  Reims,  (Anvers  with  or  without 
s),  Sieyej  (si-e-yess),  Sens,  Saint-Saens  (sanss), 
Mons,  Lesseps,  Clovis,  Brueys  (bru-ess),  in  Latin 
and  Greek  words :  Fabius,  Leonidas;  in  fact  words 
ending  in  -is,  -us,  -os,  as,  ns,  ms,  rs,  from  Greek, 
Latin,  German  and  Spanish  sources. 

NOTE. — 5"  not  sounded  in  Londres,  Athenes,  Paris, 
Orleans,  etc. 

SS  the  last  is  always  heard  sharply  and  the  first 
gives  usually  an  open  sound:  essence  (e-sence),  con- 
fesser,  paresse,  etc,;  in  ass,  t'ss,  oss,  uss  only  the  sec- 
ond s  sounded :  assister,  h'sse,  Ecosse,  Rwsste,  etc. 

NOTE. — Vowels  are  short  then,  except  in  fosse, 
grosse,  lasse  (adj.  f.). 

S  medial  after  or  before  other  consonants  is  hard  s: 
conspirer,  conscience,  converser,  lorsque,  puisque,  etc. 

NOTE. — See  exceptions  under  5"  as  z.  Many  prefer 
s  sound  in  transi  de  froid;  as  in  transe,  transept, 
transferer,  Transylvanie,  Pensylvanie  (pain-seel). 

Oss  initial  the  ss  heard :  ossature,  osseux,  etc. 


42  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

IMPORTANT  REMARKS  on  s:  in  le  Christ,  1'est, 
1'ouest,  plus-que-parfait,  Antechrist,  pst\  (interjec- 
tion) in  plus  (counting),  il  y  a  plus,  deux  de  plus, 
bien  plus,  en  plus,  5  franc  plus  dix  centimes,  vous 
avez  rec,u  plus  que  moi,  A  plus  B,  tous  as  a  pronoun : 
venez  tous,  nls,  helas,  bachelier-es-lettres,  le  sens,  le 
lis  the  s  is  sounded. 

S  not  heard  in  plus  petit,  ploy  grand,  etc.,  tous  les 
en  f  ants  (adjective),  sens  commun,  seas  dessus  des- 
sous,  sens  devant  derriere. 

Also  in  oeufs  (eu),  boeufs,  nerf^  (nair),  serf^, 
Jesus-Christ  (kree),  les  ours,  les  os,  echecs  (e  or  e), 
les  gens  maladifs  (s  in  gens  is  heard  before  vowels 
or  h  mute)  and  tandis  que  where  s  is  unheard. 

OS  sounded  in  the  singular:  I'os;  les  os  (o). 

Ours  (ourss)  un  ours  instead  of  the  old  pronun- 
ciation oor. 

NOTE. — The  latter  preferred  in  reading  to  avoid 
cacophony  or  ambiguity. 

Fils  is  fiss,  sometimes  fee  in  poetry  or  by  aged  per- 
sons. 

Obus  is  obu  by  the  soldiers;  often  sounded  as  z. 

Us  as  uss,  les  us  et  coutumes. 

S  in  moeurs  is  more  frequently  sounded. 

S  not  heard  in  est :  il  est. 

S  is  heard  in  dix,  six  (isolated). 

S  when  final  and  silent  is  linked  as  z:  dans  une 
heure. 

S  when  final  and  uttered  is  linked  as  ss:  le  fib  est 
aimable.  Venus  admirable. 

NOTE. — One  hears  I'ours/affame,  but  les  ours  af- 
f ames :  (loorss  af  fa-me)  but  (lay  zour  za-fa-me). 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  43 

Plural  adjectives  followed  by  a  noun  the  s  is  linked 
as  z:  les  grands  hommes ;  in  nouns  having  the  plural, 
form  and  followed  by  an  adjective,  the  s  is  usually  not 
linked :  un  discouns/eloquent,  un  mepris/inutile ;  in 
the  plural,  of  course,  s  is  z:  des  discours  amusants, 
etc. 

Same  rule  before  verbs,  adverbs  or  subjects :  sort 
mepris/est  ridicule,  le  paradis/ou  vous  irez,  quel  se- 
cours/on  me  donne !  because  the  sense  does  not  require 
it  and  a  pause  is  made. 

But  we  say  naturally:  des  jours  heureux  (joor-zeu- 
reux)  in  nouns  (plural)  followed  by  an  adjective  or 
adjectives  with  nouns:  ses  aimables  enfants.  In  con- 
versation the  liaisons  are  often  omitted,  specially  by 
children. 

SPECIAL  RULES  will  be  given  after  studying  t,  x,  z. 

T(th) 

T  and  TH  initial  sound  as  t:  temps,  terre,  the, 
theatre :  about  70  words  begin  with  th. 

T  final  generally  silent :  tanf,  autanf,  nuit,  minuif, 
tout,  gratuif,  etc. 

NOTE. — Te  final  syllable  of  feminine  adjectives  is 
heard :  toute,  gratuite,  petite,  prompt,  etc.,  as  in 
nouns  minute,  flute,  butte,  etc. 

T  is  not  sounded  in  Montreal,  Monfmartre,  Pont- 
martin,  Ponf-Neuf,  etc. 

TI  or  tie  may  or  may  not  sound  as  tee. 

NOTE. — When  the1  medial  t  in  English  is  sh  or  s,  it 
is  soft  in  French. 

Ex. — Acfion,  imitation,  friction,  supposition  (as 
-see-on). 


44  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

When  medial  or  final  t  is  not  sh,  or  cy  as  a  sound 
(English)  then  the  t  is  natural  in  French:  parti, 
partie,  dynastic,  question ;  on  that  principle  read  tie  as 
s  in  the  following:  aristocrat,  autocratic,  balbutiV, 
calvetiV,  democratic,  diplomatic,  facetiV,  inertic,  inep- 
tie,  imperi^V,  minutiV,  prophetic,  primatic,  peripetic. 
suprematic,  theocratic. 

But  tie  as  tee:  antipathie,  garantic,  modestic,  partie, 
sortie,  sympathic,  Claretic,  etc. 

-TIONS  in  verbs  always  tee-on:  nous  portions,  nous 
notions,  etc. 

NOTE. — In  nouns  les  portions,  les  notions,  as  s.  The 
only  nouns  when  t  is  dental  (t)  are  the  following 
exceptions :  question,  bastion,  combustion,  mixtion, 
suggestion,  gestion. 

Tial,  tiel  or  tieux  as  see-al,  see-ell:  partial,  essen- 
tiel,  captieux. 

Besft'a/  is  an  exception. 

ITI  is  as  .y  in  initial,  except  in  itineraire,  moiti'e. 
pitie,  and  nouns  in  itie. 

TT  as  t:  a«entif  (a-ten-tif). 

T  final  is  not  heard  in  et,  chat,  rat,  alphabet,  cenf, 
for^  concer^  iort,  eftet,  cabine^  biscui^  art,  billed, 
bouque^  bosque^  Mahomef,  tor^  quarf,  pot,  portrait 
aspec^  respecf,  suspecf,  instinc^  succinct  (but  not  in 
distinct),  nor  in  verb  endings:  parlanf,  parlent,  il 
vienf_,  ils  viennenf,  ils  ont,  ils  sonf,  ils  fonf,  etc. 

TI  hard  before  a  consonant :  parh'r,  acti'f ,  etc. 

TI  in  prefixes  hard  in  anti,  centi,  antipathic,  centi- 
metre. 

Also  in  ti  final  or  tien:  le  parti,  il  est  sorti,  le  tien, 
chretien. 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  45 

Exceptions  in  proper  names :  Donatien,  Diocletien 
or  their  derivatives :  \enitien;  also  safrete,  insah'able, 
inifier,  balbtltier,  differenft'er. 

T  is  sounded  in  tact,  accessif,  abjecf,  brut,  chut,  con- 
tact, correct,  cet,  defici^  dot,  direcf,  exacf,  mat,  est, 
ouest,  rut,  vivat,  preterit,  strict,  toast,  Christ  (no 
t  in  Jesus-Christ),  huif,  sept,  transit,  and  a  few  others. 

TH  is  t  in  L,uth,  Ruth,  Macbeth,  Seth,  Elisabeth, 
the,  athee,  theatre,  zenith,  athlete,  apathie,  sympathie, 
etc. 

Silent  in  asthme,  isthme ;  Goth,  Visigoth. 

As  ^  in  Chrestomaf/tie  (or  tee). 

TZ  is  ess  in  Mete. 

T  in  liaisons :  ET  is  never  linked :  Pierre  et  Ernest. 

SEPT  the  t  is  heard  in  months,  in  interest:  le  sept 
decembre,  le  sept  pour  cent  (7%),  or  before  a  vowel 
or  h  mute :  sept  hommes,  sept  amis.  In  other  cases 
not  sounded  or  linked:  sept/iemmes  (se),  sept/heros 
(se). 

HUIT  same  rule  as  sept:  le  huit  novembre,  le  huit 
du  mois,  huit  enfants,  huit  huitres. 

VINGT  from  21  to  30  the  t  is  heard:  vingt  et  un 
and  is  linked.  From  8 1  to  90  the  t  is  silent. 

NOTE. — The  t  after  c  and  r  is  not  heard  and  the  c 
or  r  are  linked:  Respect  humain,  un  respect  absolu. 
a  tort  et  a  travers. 

Fort  the  /  of  for£  (abverb)  is  always  linked  as  t: 
fort  en  histoire,  fort  habile,  etc. 

Avanf-hier  the  t  is  linked. 

ENT  in  plural  verbs,  although  nt  are  silent,  the  t  is 
linked :  ils  partewf  ensemble. 

D  often  linked  as  t:  quand  il  est  venu. 

Cent  un  no  t  (IOI).    In  adding,  the  t  is  heard. 


46  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

V 

V  is  constant  as  v:  z/euf  ,  veuve,  vol,  avoir,  sawir,, 
etc, 

NOTE.  —  F  is  linked  as  v:  neu/  hommes,  neu/  enfants. 

VV  may  be  seen  in  some  old  French  inscriptions. 

VV  as  W  are  to-day  seen  only  in  French  words  of 
foreign  origin. 

W  is  v  in  wagon-lit,  wagon-poste,  -restaurant,  Wes- 
phalie  and  in  German  words. 

W  is  oo  in  whist,  wiski,  wattman,  warrant,  whiskey 
as  in  English. 

X 

Sixteen  words  begin  with  x. 

X  in  the  plural  of  nouns  is  silent:  tableaux,  beaiu-, 
etc. 

Over  looo  words  contain  x  which  has  no  sound  of 
its  own:  X  initial  is  ks,  gz  or  K;  X  medial  is  ks  or  z; 
x  final  is  either  silent,  or  heard  as  Xe,  S,  ce  or  z  in 
liaisons. 

As  Gz  in  Xenophon,  Xavier,  Xerxes;  as  K  in 
Xeres. 

Ex  or  Hex  (initial)  as  gz  before  a  vowel  or  h  :  ex- 
ercice,  exiger,  hexametre.  Exceptions:  execrer,  and 
its  derivatives  uttered  as  ks. 

EX  as  gz  (in  7  words)  with  the  prefix  in:  in^.rerce, 
intact,  in<?jrauce,  in^jrecuter,  ineligible,  in^jristant, 


INEX  as  ks  in  fn^^citable,  -excusable,  -perience. 
-piable,  -pie,  -plicable,  -ploite,  -plore,  -pressif,  -pri- 
mable,  -pugnable,  -tensible,  -tricable  and  derivatives. 

X  as  ks  in  Aijr,  a^re,  ajriome,  Ate-^andre,  bora.r,  ex 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  47 

ces,  exception,  excess!  f,  exciter,  flexible,  luxe,  larynx, 
maxime,  phenix,  pharynx,  silex,  Styx,  Luxembourg. 

X  as  s  in  Auxerrois,  Bruxelles,  Auxerre,  dix-sept, 
-ieme,  soixante,  -ieme. 

X  is  z  in  deuxieme,  -ment,  dix-huit,  -ieme,  dixieme, 
-ment,  dix-neuf,  -vieme,  -ment,  sixieme,  -ment,  sixain, 
dizain. 

IX  as  ess  in  Atx-les-Bains,  Air-la-Chapelle  ;  as  iss 
in  Cadur,  Beatrix,  except  in  Feh'x,  prefix  and  Ver- 
cingeton'x. 

X  silent  in   endings   -oux,   -aux^   -oix,   -nix,  -eux, 
-houx,  Foix,  Lemieux,  Chamonix,  Bayeux,  Clairvaux, 
heureux. 

Also  in  prix,  Crucifix,  perdrix,  afflux,  flux  and  re- 
flux. 

X.  is  ss  in  dix,  six  and  before  months  :  le  dix  sep- 
tembre  ;  le  10%  :  le  dix  pour  cent. 

NOTE.  —  Before  other  nouns  beginning  with  conson- 
ant or  h  aspirate  dix  and  six  are  as  dee,  see:  dix  livres, 
six  heros. 

X  is  linked  as  z:  dix  en  f  ants  ;  also  in  17  and  19. 

Z 

Z  initial  is  z:  ^ephir,  £ero,  #one,  Ma^arin,  etc. 
EZ  is  e  in  nez,  chez,  ass££,  re^-de-chaussee  and  in 
verbs  :  vous  ave£,  etc. 

EZ  in  few  proper  names  is  heard  as  ez:  Su?£,  Al- 

,  Cort?£,  Fes,  Velasqu^. 
Z  in  -az,  -oz,  -uz  is  azz,  oze,  uze:  Dia^,  gaz, 


Z  is  ts  in  Zimmermann  and  other  German  words.. 
Z  in  Mete  (the  tz  is  ess). 


48  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

LIAISONS 
Or  the  linking  of  two  or  more  words. 

Those  ending  with  b,  bs,  c,  d,  g,  1,  m,  p,  r  may  or 
may  not  be  linked. 
B  and  BS : 

Joa&  etait  neveu  de  David. 
Christophe  Colomb/a  decouvert  1'Amerique. 
La  robe  est  rouge. 
Le  Dou&j/a  de  nombreuses  cascades. 


as  5  in :  La  force  etait  un  attribut  d'Hercule 
as  K:  Des  arcs-en-ciel 

du  blanc  au  noir 

a  franc  etrier 

C  as  k  when  final,  c  is  heard :  un  roc  escarpe 

Silent  in  ch:  un  almanac/z/interessant 

CT  as  t:  le  tacf  et  1'esprit 

CT  as  k:  le  respect  humain. 

C  as  k  in  done  before  vowel  or  h  mute : 

il  est  done  arrive ;  or  in  conclusions : 

je  pense,  done  j'existe 

C  in  DONC  weakly  heard  in  expressions  of  advice 
or  surprise : 

Soyez  done  sage 

Us  nous  a  done  trompes 

Silent :  C'est  un  escroc/intelligent. 


as  d:  le  sud-est,  le  sud-ouest 
le  norrf-ouest.  le  non/-est 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  49 

as  t  (preceded  by  nasal  vowel)  : 

elle  prend  une  le<;on 
silent  (preceded  by  a  vowel)  : 

le  nid/a  etc  detruit 

NOTE. — Except  with  adjective  and  its  noun  or  group 
of  words : 

un  froid  accueil 

le  f  roid  et  le  chaud 

de  pied  en  cap 

pied  a  terre 

RD — We  avoid  linking  rd  before  many  words : 

un  retard/inattendu 

un  brouillard/epais 

il  est  sourd  et  muet 

NOTE. — In  verbs  d  as  t: 

perd-on 

repond-il  a  son  f  rere  ? 

F 

as-/:  vi/  amour 

sau/-conduit 

sau/-erreur 

boeu/  a  la  mode 

neu/  et  demi 

neu/  mars 

neu/  pour  cent 

neu/  pour  Jean,  neu/  pour  moi 

du  boeu/  roti 

j'ai  achete  un  boeu/  gras  et  un  boeu/  maigre. 

le  che/  de  brigade  est-il  au  che/-lieu? 
silent  in : 

che/-d'oeuvre,  che/s  d'oeuvre 


5O  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

la  cle/ 

boeu/  gras  (sing,  or  plur.)  du  carnaval  a  Paris, 
le  ner/  de  la  guerre 
un  oeu/  /rais  ou  des  oeu/s  /rais 
NOTE. — Also   before   plural    nouns   beginning   with 
consonants  or  h  aspirate. 

G 

as  k: 

Le  Bourg  est  un  chef-lieu 

sang  et  eau 

sang  humain 

un  bourg  anglais 
as  g  in  un  joug  ecrasant 

Silent  in  endings :  -ong,  ing,  ang,  ourg,  eng  or  oing, 
etc. 

ce  faubour^r/exterieur 

Cherbour^/est  une  place  forte 

H 

final  is  silent  and  never  linked : 

un  almanac/i/avec  indications  astronomiques,  etc. 
as  k  in :  un  kracA  epouvantable 

See  huit  under  T 

J 

never  ends  a  French  word ;  but  je  or  /'  often  linked. 

K 

naturally  carried  on  as  k  before  vowels : 
JLTn  copecfc  est  une  monnaie  russe 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  51 

L 

is  linked  in  most  words : 

un  fo/  espoir 

tin  vo/  affreux 

NOTE. — Also  in  endings  -eil  (eille),  -ail  (aille)  /  is 
as  y  in  ;yes : 

un  solei/  ardent 

un  travai/  exceptionnel 

also  in :  genti/homme 

Silent  in  gentil,  fusil  (see  L)  ;  but  in  plural  nouns 
.y  is  linked  as  z: 

des  genti/shommes 

fusi/s  a  percussion 

M 

is  linked  mostly  in  foreign  words  : 

1' opium  a  une  propriete  narcotique 
silent:  nora  et  prenowi 

Adaw  et  Eve 

N  (see  nasal  vowels) 

UN,  ON  and  En  are  carried  on: 
on  a;  on  entend ;  en  ont-ils ;  vous  en  avez ;  en  at- 
tendant ;  un  ami,  un  homme. 
Except  in  le  un  et  le  deux. 
BIEN  et  RIEN  as  adverbs : 
biew  aimable 
je  n'ai  riew  achete 
NOTE. — Not  in  nouns : 
Ce  bie«/est  a  mon  frere 
Jean  est  petit 
But  in  en  pleiw  air 


52  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

le  moyen  age 

N  not  elided  in : 

le  viw  et  1'eau 

son  et  sa  sont  des  adjectifs  possessifs 

le  bon  et  le  mauvais 

C'est  bon  a  manger 

un  et  un  font  deux 

chacun  un 

donnez-lui  en  un  peu 

selon  eux 

il  a  dit  non  et  oui 

elle  se  plait  bien  en  Amerique 

il  se  conduit  bien  en  classe 

combien  y  en  a-t-il? 

1'un  ou  1'autre 

1'un  dit  oui,  1'autre  dit  non 

est-il  venu  quelqu'un  a  5  heures? 

arrive-t-on  a  New  York? 

O 

No  elision  in : 

le  onze,  le  onzieme,  la  onzieme 

le  oui 

la  ouate 

and  in  des  oui-dire 

P 

silent  in  drap,  loup,  etc. : 
un  drap/excellent 
le  camp/est  endormi 

P  in  beaucou^  and  trop  often  linked  softly 
beaucou^  etudie 
trop  eclatant 


AND   PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  53 

Q 

as  k  in : 

le  cing  mars 

cinq  enfants 

cinq  hommes 

le  cing  pour  cent 

But  not  in : 

cing/livres,  cing/heros,  etc. 

R 

(er)  in  verbs  generally  linked: 

aim^r  a  chanter 
(er)  in  Poetry  it  is  required 
(er)  in  adjectives  and  nouns: 

son  dernier  avis 

le  premier  enfant 
(r)  when  silent  in  nouns  generally  not  linked: 

Monsieur/Ernest 

un  boulanger/intelligent 

S 

as  2  with  few  exceptions : 
pa.?  a  pa^ 
depuij  une  heure 
je  voudrau  etre  riche 
le  tier j-e  tat 
les  Champ^-Elysees 
de  temp^  en  temp,? 
les  mienj  et  les  tieoy 
de^  oeul?  a  la  coque 
de  ploy  en  plu^ 
de  moin^  en  moinj 


54  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

S  not  linked  in: 
mau/oui 

George^/est  riche 
le^/onze  en f ants 
Pari^/est  une  belle  ville 
c'e^t  un  aviVimportant 
il  est  3  heure^/et  demie 
des  veny/a  soie 
vers  lej/une  heure 

NOTE. — Avoid  repetitions  of  linking  the  j  or  z  as 
proper  pauses  must  be  made : 

la  lec,on  des  autre^  enfant-y/est  trop  longue  (See  s). 

T 

as  t  is  very  frequent : 
adverbs :  f ort  interessant 
verbs :  ils  ont  achete 
onf-ils  vu? 
T  in  et  never  linked : 
Paul  et/un  ami 
Adjective  and  noun  or  object: 
pret  a  sortir 
charmanj  homme 

Verb  and  subject  and  object  with  or  without  et: 
que  di/-on? 
il  faut  etudier 
en  allanf  a  la  banque 
ils  allaienj  et  venaient 
Adverbs  with  et  or  ou: 
libremenf  et  joyeusement 
tot  ou  tard 

NOTE. — (t)  final  and  silent  not  linked: 
un  attendaf/odieux 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  55 

(rt)  t  generally  silent: 

il  est  forf/et  grand 

la  Mor//a  decime  son  armee 

Robert/a  eu  la  leqon 

un  expert/en  architecture 

la  pluparf/ont  le  mal  de  mer 

X 

as  2:  sijtr  ans 
dijir  hommes 
di^r  sept 
NOTE. — Not  in  di^r/livres,  si.r/hauteurs,  etc.  (see  X). 

Z 

as  z:  ceiur  et  celles 
vous  ave2  ecrit,  etc. 
But  not  in : 
nez  a  nez 
portez  armes 
presentez  armes 
nez  aquilin 

REMARKS  ON  LIAISONS. 

The  liaisons  affect  the  final  j,  q,  s,  x  specially  in 
boeu/,  co^  sens,  cing,  si^r,  sepf,  hui^  neu/_,  di^r  accord- 
ing to  the  rules  set  forth  previously. 

But  the  normal  liaisons  in  the  articles,  nouns,  ad- 
jectives, etc.,  are  sometimes  optional,  sometimes  un- 
permissible. 

In  eloquence,  elocution,  poetry  the  liaisons  are 
more  required  than  in  conversation ;  they  may  be  ob- 
served but  not  multiplied.  The  ear  must  also  be 
pleased  not  shocked. 


56  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

les  huitres  but  not  in  le/huit,  les/huit 
I'ou'ie  but  not  in  le/oui  et  le  non 
il  est/huit  heures 
Jean/ est  scrieux 
Jeanne  est  jolie 
J'en  ai  un 

le  sud  et  I' est  (as  d) 
le  nord  et  I'ouest 
mais/oui 

vingt  et  un,  but  not  in  le  chat/et  le  chien 
When  the  liaisons  are  too  close  we  must  pause  at 
least  after  the  verb  to  avoid  discordant  sounds : 
vous  nous  avez  avertis/en  allant  a  I' hotel 
Children  often  omit  the  liaisons  of  s,  t,  d,  x,  z. 

(1)  Strictly   speaking,   one  must  use   discretion   in 
linking  words : 

Pierre  et/un  ami  (et  is  never  linked) 

Pierre  est  un  ami 

There  is  often  a  reason  based  on  grammar  or  on 
the  ear: 

pot-au-feu  (po-to-feu)  has  not  the  same  meaning 
as  mettre  le  pot/au  feu;  in  the  latter  case  the  t  is  silent. 

We  link  naturally  the  article  with  a  noun :  un  ami, 
une  amie,  I' ami,  I' amie,  les  amis,  les  amies,  les  hommes, 
except  before  h  aspirate  or  consonants.  No  liaison  in 
les  heros  nor  in  les  zeros. 

(2)  Qualifying    adjectives,    possessive    adjectives 
with  nouns : 

d'heureux  enfants 

les  amis  de  mes  amis  sont  mes  amis 

(3)  Nouns  in  the  plural  with  the  adjective: 
des  discours  eloquents 

but  not  in:  un  disc  ours/ eloquent  (r  is  linked). 


AND    PRACTICAL   PHONETICS  57 

(4)  Pronouns  including  object,  en,  y: 

il  a,  elle  a,on  a,  j'ai,  nous  avons,  vous  avez,  Us  ont, 
etc, 

on  attend,  en  ont-elles,  j'y  vais,  qu'avez-vous? 

NOTE. — Are  linked  the  pronoun  before  its  verb  or 
the  verb  before  its  pronoun. 

(5)  The  adverb  before  the  adjective  or  past  par- 
ticiple : 

trop  ardent 
fort  estime 

(6)  Prepositions  except  scion: 
chez  ellcs 

selon/eux 

(7)  d  is  carried  on  as  t 
f  as  v 

g  as  k 

s  and  x  as  z 

grand  homme 

cinq  amis  (q  as  k) 

neuf  homines 

NOTE. — The  /  is  frequently  heard  instead  of  v. 

un  rang  honorable 

le  sang  humain 

S  in  vers,  envers,  disc  ours,  sec  ours,  etc.,  the  r  is 
carried  except  in  plural  nouns: 

vers/une  colline 

un  secours/inattendu 

T  preceded  by  r  is  carried  on  only  in  fort  (when 
adverb). 

fort  aimable 

not  in  a  tort  et  a  travers 

CT  as  k  in  respect: 


58  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

respect  humain 

respect  absolu 

N  in  liaisons :  you  utter  the  nasal  vowel  and  link  the 
n  with  the  next  syllable. 

en  achetant 

Ain  and  ien  are  weakened  before  linking: 

certain  ami 

un  ancien  eleve 

IN  is  also  weakened  in  old  religious  or  classical  ap- 
pellations : 

il  est  ne  le  divin  Enfant 

le  divin  amour 

ON  may  or  may  not  be  weakened  in :  mon  ami,  ton 
ami,  son  ami 

but  in  other  cases  it  loses  its  nasal  quality  before 
being  carried  on : 

ce  bonhomme  or  in  ce  bon  homme 

C'est  un  bon  ami 

le  bonheur 

UN  preserves  generally  its  nasal  quality:  un  ami 

By  affectation  speakers  say  u-n  ami 

GENERAL  RULES  ON  PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PROSODY, 

Articulation,  Aspiration,  Elision,  Expiration,  Liaisons 

and  Tonic  Accent. 

ARTICULATION. — The  ear  must  hear  every  syllable 
in  French,  however  vanishing  the  stress  may  be: 
C'est  u-ne  Fran-fai-se.  J'ai  re-pe-te,  pro-non-ci-a-ti-on 
e-lec-ti-on,  do-mi-ner,  ci-te,  se-cre-tai-re. 

ASPIRATION  (breathing  upon). — Certain  sounds  are 
uttered  with  a  breath  upon  the  vowel :  Ho !  Ho !  Phi- 
lippe. 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  59 

NOTE. — The  h  is  aspirated  in  French  when  the  fol- 
lowing vowel  is  slightly  pronounced  from  the  throat: 
le  heros.  Then  no  elision  nor  linking  is  permissible, 
except  with  a  mute  h. 

Elision. — In  auxiliary  words  the  initials  a,  e,  i,  o,  u 
or  h  (mute)  are  often  preceded  by  /'  (for  le,  la),  d' 
(de),  qu'  (que),  s'  (si  or  se),  etc.:  I' ami,  I'amie,  I' en- 
fant, j'ai,  jusqu'a,  s'il  vous  plait 

Expiration. — The  French  Language  is  articulated 
principally  on  the  lips.  You  must  breathe  out  while 
moving  the  lips :  Ce,  si,  etc. 

Liaisons  or  the  linking  of  words. — The  liaisons  are 
frequently  used  in  French  and  serve  to  connect  prin- 
cipally the  article  with  the  noun,  the  adjective  with  the 
noun,  the  pronoun  with  the  verb,  the  verb  with  the 
pronoun  and  the  adverb  before  the  past  participle  or 
adjective:  un  ami,  un  grand  homme,  il  a,  elle  a,  a-t-il, 
fort  aime,  etc. 

NOTE. — Words  must  not  be  linked  before  h  (aspir- 
ate)'or  any  other  word  not  strictly  connected  by 
punctuation  or  by  certain  groups  of  words.  Above  all 
the  ear  must  be  pleased  and  proper  pauses  prevent  the 
linking. 

Hiatus. — The  meeting  of  the  same  vowel :  one  final, 
the  other  initial  is  called  hiatus  and  no  linking  takes 
place.  Ex.  il  alia  a  Paris,  coupe-le  en  deux. 

NOTE. — In  Poetry  no  hiatus  is  tolerated,  except  for 
effect. 


60  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

.    MUTE  E 

The  so-called  mute  e. 

Strictly  speaking,  the  e  is  mute  only  when  it  is  elided  : 
I' ami,  I'homme. 

In  other  cases  the  final  e  is  slightly  uttered :  la  face. 

In  very  few  words  the  so-called  e  mute  is  not  pro- 
nounced: soie,  soierie.  The  e  in  old  French,  was 
weak,  but  heard.  Now,  in  conversation,  it  is  heard  or 
not  according  to  its  position. 

Brachet  says :  "  Dans  la  phonetique  des  voyelles,  il 
faut  considerer  la  qualite,  1'accentuation,  1'entourage." 

In  daily  use  the  same  vowel  e  in  the  same  word  is 
uttered  or  not :  Je  riveux  pas,  j'  n'en  sais  rien. 

Even  in  Poetry  says  M.  Maurice  Grammont:  "  En 
ancien  fran^ais,  sauf  a  la  fin  du  vers  et  a  la  cesure, 
tout  e  comptait  pour  une  syllabe;  aujourd'hui  il  ne 
compte  plus  jamais  apres  une  voyelle  atone;  tu  joueras 
ne  fait  que  trois  syllabes.  il  en  faisait  quatre  a  1'ori- 
gine." 

This  modern  usage  began  in  the  I4th  century. 

After  a  tonic  vowel  (prie,  pries,  prient)  it  is  also 
silent,  but  the  word,  including  it,  is  not  allowed  in  the 
body  of  a  verse,  except  when  the  e  is  elided.  At  the 
end  of  a  verse  it  is  a  feminine  rime. 

MASCULINE  RIME  is  a  final  stressed  syllable  at  the 
end  of  a  verse. 

FEMININE  RIME  ends  in  e  mute  or  -ent,  es  (as  its 
equivalent). 

NOTE. — After  a  consonant  the  e,  either  in  the  body 
of  a  verse  or  at  the  end  of  a  word,  seems  to  have  been 
silent  or  uttered  in  daily  use  from  the  I5th  century  to 
the  present  time. 


AND   PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  6 1 

QUANTITY  is  not  the  basis  of  French  verse  and  we 
count  the  syllables  whether  long  or  short;  hence 
French  verses  are  syllabic. 

All  syllables  count  except  mute  syllables  when  final 
(at  the  end  of  a  verse)  or  elided. 

TONIC  ACCENT. — In  Poetry  there  are  two  required 
stressed  syllables:  at  the  end  of  a  verse  (masculine 
rime)  and  at  the  caesura. 

From  Quitard's  Traite  de  Versification : 

"  L'accent  tonique,  ainsi  nomme  parcequ'il  consiste 
en  une  sorte  de  ton  musical,  est  une  modulation 
simple  et  legere  qui  se  joint  a  certaines  syllabes.  II 
se  trouve  toujours  sur  la  derniere  des  mots  a  desinence 
sonore  ou  masculine,  et  sur  1'avant  derniere  des  mots 
a  desinence  muette  ou  feminine.  L'accent  d'appui 
consiste  dans  une  prononciation  plus  forte  et  plus 
ressentie  de  la  syllabe  sur  laquelle  la  voix  insiste,  mais 
sans  modulation." 

As  to  the  other  accents  (stress)  in  Poetry  they  may 
vary. ' 

For  emphasis  or  expressive  reading  the  accent 
(stress)  is  maintained  on  first  syllables  beginning  with 
consonants  or  on  the  medial :  Ca  ira,  c'est  epowvan- 
table. 

PRACTICAL  FRENCH  PROSODY. 

Briefly  French  verse  is  based  on  the  number  of  syl- 
lables and  on  the  rime.  In  French  the  stress  or  ac- 
centuation falls: 

(i)  On  the  last  syllable  of  words  (of  two  syllables) 
ending  with  a  masculine  rime  or  the  penultimate  syl- 
lable when  the  word  ends  with  a  feminine  rime, 


62  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

(2)  The  antepenultimate  in  words  (with  masculine 
rimes)  of  three  or  more  syllables. 

Let  us  examine  briefly  the  modes  of  uttering  French 
in  Elocution,  Reading  and  Conversation. 

French  character — being  quick  and  mild,  says  d'Oli- 
vet — reveals  brevity  and  suavity.  Latin  words  as  well 
as  vowels  have  often  been  shortened  in  French,  and 
to  make  the  language  more  flowing  the  mute  e  has 
been  multiplied,  the  hiatus  often  removed  and  the 
article  and  the  pronoun  frequently  used. 

Although  the  long  and  short  French  vowels  or  syl- 
lables do  not  fulfil  the  same  purpose  as  in  Greek  or 
Latin  they  may  describe  by  their  place  or  union  dif- 
ferent objects,  various  shades  of  meaning. 

Some  poets  have  succeeded  in  establishing  a  certain 
connection  between  sounds  and  ideas.  From  physical 
phenomena  to  abstract  ideas  they  associate  serious 
thoughts  with  long  sounds,  pleasant  ideas  with  soft 
sounds. 

In  other  words  the  poet  may  suggest  such  ideas  or 
images  to  the  mind  by  faithfully  interpreting  an  in- 
tellectual impression  or  rendering  it  true  to  our  senses. 

Music  has  also  given  us  long  notes,  deep  sounds, 
etc.,  but  their  timbre  and  quality  form  the  basis  and 
the  mode  of  articulating  the  French  vowels. 

The  rules  of  French  Prosody  are  based — according 
to  needs — on  vivacity  or  lack  of  animation. 

Listen  to  a  prolonged  whistling : 

Pour  qui  sont  ces  serpents  qui  sifflent  sur  vos  tetes? 
(Racine,  Andromaque) 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  63 

PROSODY. 

To  Indolence : 

La  mollesse  oppressee, 

Dans  sa  bouche,  a  ce  mot,  sent  sa  langue  gla^ee; 

Et,  lasse  de  parler,  succombant  sous  I'eftort, 

Soupire,  etend  les  bras, ....  f erme  1'oeil  et  s'endort. 
(Le  Lutrin,  Boileau) 

On  a  rocky  road : 

Ou,  6  Hugo,  huchera-t-on  ton  nom? 

Justice,  enfin  rendue,  que  ne  t'a-t-on? 

Quand  done,  au  corps  qu'Academie  qu'on  nomme 

Grimperas-tu  de  roc  en  roc,  rare  homme. 

(P.  Grandmaison) 

Sonorous  vowels: 

La  victoire  aux  cent  voix  sonnera  sa  fanfare. 
(Hugo,  a  1'Arc  de  Triomphe) 

Rapidity : 

Oh !  si  j'avais  des  ailes 

Vers  ce  beau  ciel  si  pur  je  voudrais  les  ouvrir. 

(Musset,  Rolla) 

Briefly,  the  slower  the  pronunciation,  the  more  im- 
portant Prosody  is  in  Reading,  specially  at  the  bar,  in 
the  theatre  or  pulpit. 

Granting  that  diction  is  a  sort  of  singing,  each  long 
syllable  must  be  more  pronounced.  The  timbre  and 
the  quality  of  vowels  do  not  affect  the  stress  (accent), 
because  the  pause  is  the  same. 

Alone  the  intonation  varies  in  accordance  with  ideas 
or  sentiments. 

When  the  nasals  are  more  frequent  than  the  vowels 
the  timbre  seems  to  yield  to  the  dominant  quality  of 
.indolence  or  indifference. 


64  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

Certain  consonants  (b,  d,  g,  p  or  c)  are  often  used 
to  express  irony  or  sudden  emotions ;  R  to  express 
dissatisfaction  or  rumbling  sounds. 

In  Reading  the  pronunciation  is  somewhat  slower ; 
each  syllable  has  its  proper  value,  each  sentiment  its 
intonation.  There  should  be  more  repose  in  Reading 
than  in  Elocution. 

In  Conversation  the  vowels  seem  to  be  all  short,  but 
are  not  so  when  properly  sounded. 

Good  usage  may  be  the  best  rule  in  Conversation, 
but  many  hiatus  often  add  to  its  charm. 

For  further  information  on  the  rules  of  Versifica- 
tion, you  are  requested  to  read: 

Quitard's  Dictionnaire  des  Rimes. 

Grammont's  Petit  Traite  de  Versification  fran$aise. 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS 


H(  aspirated)  in 

ha 

haillon 

hamac 

habler 

haillonneux 

hameau 

hablerie 

haine 

hamelia 

hableur 

haineusement 

hammam 

hachage 

haineux 

hampe 

hachard 

hair 

hamster 

hache 

hai  re 

han 

hache 

hai'ssable 

hanap 

hache-  ecorce 

haje 

hanapier 

hache-legumes 

halage 

hanche 

hache-  paille 

halbi 

handicap 

hacher 

halbran 

handicaper 

hachereau 

halbrene 

handicapeur 

hachette 

hale 

hanebane 

hache  -viande 

hale 

hangar 

hachis 

haler 

hanneton 

hachisch 

haler 

hannetonnage 

ou  haschisch 

haletant 

hannetonner 

hachischin 

haletement 

hannuyer 

hachoir 

haleter 

ou  hainuier 

hachot 

haleur 

Hanovrien 

hachotte 

hall 

hansart 

hachure 

hallebarde 

hanse 

hack 

hallebardier 

hanse"atique 

hadji 

hallier 

hanter 

hagard 

hallier 

hantise 

hagardement 

halo 

happe 

haha 

haloir 

happeau 

hai 

halot 

happelourde 

haie 

halotechnie 

happement 

hai'e 

halte 

happer 

66 


FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 


haquebute 

haridelle 

hase 

ou  hacquebute 

harle 

hastaire 

haquen^e 

harmattan 

haste 

haquet 

harnachement 

hast6 

haquetier 

harnacher 

hate 

harangue 

harnacheur 

hatelet 

haranguer 

harnais 

hatelle 

harangueur 

haro 

ou  hatelette 

haras 

harpail 

hater 

harasse 

harpaille 

hatereau 

harassement 

harpe 

hateur 

harasser 

harpe 

hatier 

harcelement 

harpeau 

hatif 

hairceler 

harper 

hatille 

harceleur 

harpie 

hativeau 

harde 

harpin 

hativement 

harde 

harpiste 

hativet6 

hardies 

harpoise 

hatti-cherif 

harder 

harpon 

hature 

hardes 

harponnage 

hauban 

hardi 

harponnement 

haubaner 

hardiesse 

harponner 

haubergeon 

hardiment 

harponneur 

haubert 

harem 

hart 

hausse 

hareng 

hasard 

hausse-col 

harengaison 

hasard£ 

haussement 

harengere 

hasardement 

hausse  -pied 

harengerie 

hasarder 

hausse-queue 

harenguet 

hasardeusement 

hausser 

harfang 

hasardeux 

haussier 

hargnerie 

hasardise 

haussiere 

hargneux 

haschisch 

haul 

AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS 


67 


haut  a  bas. 

hennissement 

heurtement 

hautain 

h£raut 

heurter 

hautainement 

herd-  book 

heurtoir 

hautbois 

here 

heuse 

hautboi'ste 

he'risse' 

h£vee 

haut-de-chausse 

h£rissement 

hexandre 

haute-contre 

herisser 

hexandrie 

hautement 

h£risson 

hi 

hautesse 

h£rissonne 

hibou 

haute-  taille 

hernhute 

hie 

hauteur 

ou  hernute 

hideur 

haut-fond 

hernhutisme 

hideusement 

haut-le-cceur 

hernia  ire 

hideux 

haut-le-corps 
haut-pendu 
haut-relief 

hernie 
herni^ 
hernieux 

hie 
hiement 
ou  himent 

hauturier 

h£ron 

hierarchic 

havane 
have 
haveneau 

h^ronneau 
heronnier 
h£ronniere 

hi£rarchique 
hi^rarchiquement 
hi^rarchisation 

ou  havenet 
havir 
havre 
havresac 

he"ros 
herpe 
hersage 
herse 

hi^rarchisej 
highlander 
hisser 
ho 

he 

herser 

hoat-chi 

heaume 

herseur 

hoazin 

heaumerie 

hersillon 

hobereau 

hein 

hetraie 

hoc 

heler 

hetre 

hoca 

henn£ 

heu 

hocco 

hennin 

heurt 

hoche 

hennir 

heurt^ 

hochement 

68 


FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 


hochepot 

hors 

houlque 

hochequeue 

hors-d'oeuvre 

houp  ! 

hocher 

horse-  guard 

houper 

hoc  he  t 

horse-  pox 

houppe 

hockey 

hors-ligne 

houppelande 

hogner 

hotte 

houpper 

hola 

hott£e 

houppette 

Hollandais 

Hottentot 

houraillis 

Hollande 

hottereau 

hourd 

hollander 

hotteur 

hgurdage 

horn 

hou 

ou  hourdis 

homard 

houache 

hourder 

home 

ou  houaiche 

houret 

hon 

houari 

houri 

hongre 

houblon 

houri 

hongrer 

houblonner 

hourque 

hongreur 

houblonnier 

hourra 

hongroierie 

houblonniere 

hourvari 

Hongrois 

houe 

housard 

hongroyage 

houement 

houseaux 

hongroyer 

houer 

houspiller 

hongroyeur 

houette 

houssage 

honnir 

houeur 

houssaie 

honte 

houillage 

housse 

honteusement 

houille 

housser 

honteux 

houiller 

houssine 

hop 

houillere 

houssiner 

hoquet 

houilleur 

houssoir 

hoqueter 

houilleux 

housson 

hoqueton 

houle 

houx 

horde 

houlette 

hoyau 

horion 

houleux 

huard 

AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS 


hublot 

hulot 

hurlement 

huch  ou  hue  ho 

hulotte 

hurler 

huche 

hululer 

hurleur 

hucher 

hum  ! 

huron 

huchet 
hue! 
hue"e 

hum  age 
humbug 
hune 

hurrah 
hussard 
hussarde 

huer 

hunier 

hussite 

huette 

hunter 

hutin 

huguenot 
huguenotisme 
huhau 

huppe 
hupp£ 
hure 

hutinet 
hutte 
hutter 

hulan 

hurlant 

hyacinthe 

ARR£TE 

RELATIF  A  LA  SIMPLIFICATION  DE  L'ENSEIGNEMENT 
DE  LA  SYNTAXE  FRANCAISE 

(26  fevrier  1901.) 

Le  Ministre  de  1'Instruction  publique  et  des  Beaux- 
Arts,  vu  1'article  5  de  la  loi  du  27  fevrier  1880 ; 

Vu  1'arrete  du  31  juillet  1900; 

Le  Conseil  superieur  de  1'Instruction  publique  en- 
tendu, 

Arrete : 

ARTICLE  i. — Dans  les  examens  ou  concours  depen- 
dant du  ministere  de  1'Instruction  publique,  qui  corn- 
portent  des  epreuves  speciales  d'orthographe,  il  ne 
sera  pas  compte  de  fautes  aux  candidats  pour  avoir 
use  des  tolerances  indiquees  dans  la  Hste  annexee  au 
present  arrete. 

La  meme  disposition  est  applicable  au  jugement  des 
diverses  compositions  redigees  en  langue  franchise, 
dans  les  examens  ou  concours  dependant  du  ministere 
de  1'Instruction  publique  qui  ne  comportent  pas  une 
epreuve  speciale  d'orthographe. 

ARTICLE  2. — L'arrete  du  31  juillet  1900  est  rapporte. 

LISTE  ANNEXEE  A  L'ARRETE  DU  26  FEVRIER   1901 
Substantifs. 

PLURIEL  ou  SINGULIER. — Dans  toutes  les  construc- 
tions ou  le  sens  permet  de  comprendre  le  substantif 
complement  aussi  bien  au  singulier  qu'au  pluriel,  on 
70 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  7 1 

tolerera  1'emploi  de  1'un  ou  1'autre  nombre.  Ex. :  des 
habits  de  femme  ou  de  femmes; — des  confitures  de 
groseille  ou  dc  groseilles; — des  pretres  en  bonnet  carre 
ou  en  bonnets  carres; — Us  ont  die  leur  chapeau  ou 
Icurs  chapeaux..  . 

Substantifs  des  deux  genres. 

1.  AIGLE. — L'usage  actuel  donne  a  ce  substantif  le 
genre  masculin,  sauf  dans  le  cas  ou  il  designe  des  en- 
seignes.     Ex. :  le s  aigles  romaines. 

2.  AMOUR,  ORGUE. — L'usage  actuel  donne  a  ces  deux 
mots  le  genre  masculin  au  gingulier.     Au  pluriel,  on 
tolerera  indifferemment  le  genre  masculin  ou  le  genre 
feminin.    Ex. :  les  grandes  orgues; — un  des  plus  beaux 
or g  lies; — de  folles  amours,  des  amours  tardifs. 

3.  DEUCE  ET  DELICES  sont,  en  realite,  deux  mots 
differents.     Le  premier  est  d'un  usage  rare  et  un  peu 
recherche.     II  est  inutile  de  s'en  occuper  dans  1'en- 
seignement  elementaire  et  dans  les  exercices. 

4.  AUTOMNE,  ENFANT. — Ces   deux  mots  etant  des 
deux  genres,  il  est  inutile  de  s'en  occuper  particuliere- 
ment.     II  en  est  de  meme  de  tous  les  substantifs  qui 
sont  indifferemment  des  deux  genres. 

5.  GENS,  ORGE. — On  tolerera  dans  toutes  les  con- 
structions 1'accord  de  1'adjectif  au  feminin  avec  le  mot 
gens.     Ex. :  instruits  ou  instruites  par  I' experience,  les 
mettles  gens  sont  soup(onneux  ou  soup(onneuses . 

On  tolerera  1'emploi  du  mot  orge  au  feminin  sans 
exception :  orge  carree,  orge  mondee,  orge  perlee. 

6.  HYMNE. — II  n'y  a  pas  de  raison  suffisante  pour 
donner  a  ce  mot  deux  sens  differents  suivant  qu'il  est 
employe  au  masculin  ou  au  feminin.     On  tolerera  les 


72  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

deux  genres  aussi  bien  pour  les  chants  nationaux  que 
pour  les  chants  religieux.  Ex. :  nn  bel  hymne  ou  une 
belle  hymne. 

7.  PAQUES. — On  tolerera  1'emploi  de  ce  mot  au  fe- 
minin  aussi  bien  pour  designer  une  date  que  la  fete  re- 
ligieuse.  Ex. :  A  Pdques  prochain,  ou  a  Paques  pro- 
chaines. 

Pluriel  des  substantifs. 

PLURIEL  DES  NOMS  PROPRES. — La  plus  grande  ob- 
scurite  regnant  dans  les  regies  et  les  exceptions  en- 
seignees  dans  les  grammaires,  on  tolerera  dans  tous 
les  cas  que  les  noms  propres  precedes  de  1'article 
pluriel  prennent  la  marque  du  pluriel :  les  Corneilles 
comme  les  Gracques; — des  Virgiles  (exemplaires) 
comme  des  Virgiles  (editions). 

II  en  sera  de  meme  pour  les  noms  propres  de  per- 
sonne  designant  les  oeuvres  de  ces  personnes.  Ex. : 
des  Meissoniers. 

PLURIEL  DES  NOMS  EMPRUNTES  A  D'AUTRES  LANGUES. 
— Lorsque  ces  mots  sont  tout  a  fait  entres  dans  la 
langue  franchise,  on  tolerera  que  le  pluriel  soit  forme 
suivant  la  regie  generale.  Ex. :  des  exeats  comme 
des  deficits. 

Noms  composes. 

NOMS  COMPOSES. — Les  memes  noms  composes  se 
rencontrent  aujourd'hui  tantot  avec  le  trait  d'union, 
tantot  sans  trait  d'union.  II  est  inutile  de  fatiguer  les 
enfants  a  apprendre  des  contradictions  que  rien  ne 
justifie.  L'absence  de  trait  d'union  dans  1'expression 
pomme  de  terre  n'empeche  pas  cette  expression  de 
former  un  veritable  mot  compose  aussi  bien  que  chef- 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  73, 

d'ceuvre,  'par  exemple.     Ces  mots  pourront  tou jours 
s'ecrire  sans  trait  d'union. 

Article. 

ARTICLE  DEVANT  LES  NOMS  PROPRES  DE  PERSONNES.. 
— L'usage  existe  d'employer  1'article  devant  certains 
noms  de  famille  italiens :  le  Tasse,  le  Correge,  et  quel- 
quefois  a  tort  devant  les  prenoms :  (le}  Dante,  (le) 
Guide. — On  ne  comptera  pas  comme  une  faute  1'igno- 
rance  de  cet  usage. 

II  regne  aussi  une  grande  incertitude  dans  la  mani- 
ere  d'ecrire  1'article  qui  fait  partie  de  certains  noms 
fran^ais:  la  Fontaine,  la  Fayette  ou  Lafayette.  II 
convient  d'indiquer,  dans  les  textes  dictes,  si,  dans  les- 
noms  propres  qui  contiennent  un  article,  1'article  doit 
etre  separe  du  nom. 

ARTICLE  SUPPRIME. — Lorsque  deux  adjectifs  unis 
par  et  se  rapportent  au  meme  substantif  de  maniere  a 
designer  en  realite  deux  choses  differentes,  on  tolerera 
la  suppression  de  1'article  devant  le  second  adjectif. 
Ex. :  IJhistoire  ancienne  et  moderne,  comme  Vhistoire 
ancienne  et  la  moderne. 

ARTICLE  PARTITIF. — On  tolerera  du,  de  la,  des  air 
lieu  de  de  partitif  devant  un  substantif  precede  d'un> 
adjectif.  Ex. :  de  ou  du  bon  pain,  de  bonne  viandc  ou 
de  la  bonne  viande,  de  ou  des  bons  fruits. 

•ARTICLE  DEVANT  PLUS,  MOINS,  ETC. — La  regie  qui 
veut  qu'on  emploie  le  plus,  le  mains,  le  mieux  comme 
un  neutre  invariable  devant  un  adjectif  indiquant  le 
degre  le  plus  eleve  de  la  qualite  possedee  par  le  sub- 
stantif qualifie  sans  comparaison  avec  d'autres  objets 
est  tres  subtile  et  de  peu  d'utilite.  II  est  superflu  de 


74  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

s'en  occuper  dans  1'enseignement  elementaire  et  dans 
les  exercices.  On  tolerera  Ic  plus,  la  plus,  les  plus,  les 
mains,  les  mieujc,  etc.,  dans  des  constructions  telles 
que :  on  a  abattu  les  arbres  le  plus  ou  les  plus  exposes 
a  la  tempete. 

Adjectif. 

ACCORD  DE  L' ADJECTIF. — Dans  la  locution,  se  faire 
fort  de,  on  tolerera  1'accord  de  1'adjectif.  Ex.:  se 
faire  fort,  forte,  forts,  fortes  de. .  . 

ADJECTIF  CONSTRUIT  AVEC  PLUSIEURS  SUBSTANTIFS. 
— Lorsqu'un  adjectif  qualificatif  suit  plusieurs  sub- 
stantifs  de  genres  differents,  on  tolerera  toujours  que 
1'adjecfif  soit  construit  au  masculin  pluriel,  quel  que 
soit  le  genre  du  substantif  le  plus  voisin.  Ex. :  ap- 
partements  et  chambres  meubles. 

'Nu,  DEMI,  FEU. — On  tolerera  1'accord  de  ces  ad- 
jectifs  avec  le  substantif  qu'ils  precedent.  Ex.:  nu  ou 
nus  pieds,  une  demi  ou  demie  heure  (sans  trait  d'uniorr 
entre  les  mots,  feu  ou  feue  reine. 

ADJECTIFS  COMPOSES. — On  tolerera  la  reunion  des 
deux  mots  constitutifs  en  un  seul  mot  qui  formera  son 
feminin  et  son  pluriel  d'apres  la  regie  generale.  Ex. : 
nouveaune,  nouveaunee,  nouvcaunes,  nouveaunees; — 
courtvetu,  courtvetuc,  courtvetus,  courtvetues,  etc. 

Mais  les  adjectifs  composes  qui  designent  des  nu- 
ances etant  devenus,  par  suite  d'une  ellipse,  de  veri- 
tables  substantifs  invariables,  on  les  traitera  comme 
des  mots  invariables.  Ex. :  des  robes  bleu  clair,  vert 
d'eau,  etc.,  de  meme  qu'on  dit  des  habits  uiarron. 

PARTICIPES  PASSES  INVARIABLES. — Actuellement  les 
participes  approuve,  attendu,  ci-inclus,  ci-joint,  ex- 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  75 

cepte,  non  compris,  y  compris,  die,  passe,  suppose,  vu, 
places  avant  le  substantif  auquel  ils  sont  joints, 
restent  in  variables.  Excepte  est  meme  deja  classe 
parmi  les  prepositions.  On  tolerera  1'accord  facul- 
tatif  pour  ces  participes,  sans  exiger  1'application  de 
regies  differentes  suivant  que  ces  mots  sont  places  au 
commencement  on  dans  le  corps  de  la  proposition, 
suivant  que  le  substantif  est  ou  n'est  pas  determine. 
Ex.:  ci  joint  ou  ci  jointes  les  pieces  demandees  (sans 
trait  d'union  entre  ci  et  le  participe)  ; — je  vous.envoie 
ci  joint  ou  ci  jointe  copie  de  la  piece. 

On  tolerera  la  meme  liberte  pour  1'adjectif  franc. 
Ex. :  envoyer  franc  de  port  ou  franc  he  de  port  une 
lettre. 

AVOIR  i/ AIR. — On  permettra  d'ecrire  indifrerem- 
ment :  elle  a  I' air  doux  ou  douce,  spirituel  ou  spiritu- 
elle.  On  n'exigera  pas  la  connaissance  d'une  diffe- 
rence de  sens  subtile  suivant  1'accord  de  1'adjectif  avec 
le  mot  air  ou  avec  le  mot  designant  la  personne  dont 
on  indique  1'air. 

ADJECTIFS  NUMERAUX. — Vingt,  cent.  La  pronon- 
ciation  Justine  dans  certains  cas  la  regie  actuelle  qui 
donne  un  pluriel  a  ces  deux  mots  quand  ils  sont  multi- 
plies par  un  autre  nombre.  On  tolerera  le  pluriel  de 
vingt  et  cent  meme  lorsque  ces  deux  mots  sont  suivis 
d'un  autre  adjectif  numeral.  Ex. :  quatre  vingt  ou 
quatre  vingts  dix  hommes; — quatre  cent  ou  quatre 
cents  trente  hommes. 

Le  trait  d'union  ne  sera  pas  exige  entre  le  mot  de- 
signant les  unites  et  le  mot  designant  les  dizaines. 
.  Ex. :  dix  sept. 

Dans  la  designation  du  millesime,  on  tolerera  mille 


76  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

au  lieu  de  mil,  comme  dans  1'expression  d'un  nombre. 
Ex. :  I'an  mil  huit  cent  quatre  inngt  dix  ou  Van  mille 
huit  cents  quatre  vingts  dix. 

Adjectifs  demonstratifs,  indefinis  et  pronoms. 

CE. — On  tolerera  la  reunion  des  particules  n  et  la 
avec  le  pronom  qui  les  precede,  sans  exiger  qu'on  dis- 
tingue qu'est  ceci,  qu'est  cela  de  qu'est  ce  ci,  qu'est  ce 
la. — On  tolerera  la  suppression  du  trait  d'union  dans 
ces  constructions. 

MEME. — Apres  un  substantif  ou  un  pronom  au 
pluriel,  on  tolerera  1'accord  de  meme  au  pluriel  et  on 
n'exigera  pas  de  trait  d'union  entre  meme  et  le  pro- 
nom. Ex. :  nous  memes,  les  dieux  memes. 

TOUT. — Devant  un  nom  de  ville  on  tolerera  1'accord 
du  mot  tout  avec  le  nom  propre  sans  chercher  a  etablir 
une  difference  un  peu  subtile  entre  des  constructions 
comme  toute  Rome  ou  tout  Rome. 

On  ne  comptera  pas  de  faute  non  plus  a  ceux  qui 
ecriront  indifferemment,  en  faisant  parler  une  femme, 
je  suis  tout  a  vous  ou  je  suis  toute  a  vous. 

Lorsque  tout  est  employe  avec  le  sens  indefini  de 
chaque,  on  tolerera  indifferemment  la  construction  au 
singulier  ou  au  pluriel  du  mot  tout  et  du  substantif 
qu'il' accompagne.  Ex.:  des  marchandises  de  toute 
sorte  ou  de  toutes  sortes; — la  sottise  est  de  tout  (tous) 
temps  et  de  tout  (tous}  pays. 

AUCUN. — Avec  une  negation,  on  tolerera  1'emploi 
de  ce  mot  aussi  bien  au  pluriel  qu'au  singulier.  Ex.: 
ne  faire  aucun  projet  ou  aucuns  projets. 

CHACUN. — Lorsque  ce  pronom  est  construit  apres  le 
verbe  et  se  rapporte  a  un  mot  pluriel  sujet  ou  com- 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  77 

plement,  on  tolerera  indifferemment,  apres  chacun, 
le  possessif  son,  sa,  ses  ou  le  possess! f  leur,  leurs. 
Ex. :  Us  sont  sortis  chacun  de  son  cote  ou  de  leur  cote ; 
— remettre  des  livres  chacun  a  sa  place  ou  a  leur  place. 

Verbe. 

VERBES  COMPOSES. — On  tolerera  la  suppression  de 
1'apostrophe  et  du  trait  d'union  dans  les  verbes  com- 
poses. Ex. :  entrouvrir,  entrecroiser. 

TRAIT  D'UNION. — On  tolerera  1'absence  de  trait 
d'union  entre  le  verbe  et  le  pronom  sujet  place  apres 
le  verbe.  Ex. :  est  il. 

DIFFERENCE  DU  SUJET  APPARENT  ET  DU  SUJET  REEL. 
— Ex. :  sa  maladie  sont  des  vapeurs.  II  n'y  a  pas  lieu 
d'enseigner  de  regies  pour  des  constructions  sembla- 
bles  dont  1'emploi  ne  peut  etre  etudie  utilement  que 
dans  la  lecture  et  1'explication  des  textes.  C'est  une 
question  de  style  et  non  de  grammaire  qui  ne  saurait 
figurer  ni  dans  les  exercices  elementaires  ni  dans  les 
examens. 

ACCORD  DU   VERBE  PRECEDE   DE   PLUSIEURS   SUJETS 

NON    UNIS    PAR   LA    CONJONCTION    et. Si    les    SUJetS    ne 

sont  pas  resumes  par  un  mot  indefini  tel  que  tout,  rien, 
chacun,  on  tolerera  tou jours  la  construction  du  verbe 
au  pluriel.  Ex. :  sa  bonte,  sa  douceur  le  font  admirer. 
ACCORD  DU  VERBE  PRECEDE  DE  PLUSIEURS  SUJETS  AU 
SINGULIER  UNIS  PAR  ni,  comme,  ainsi  que  ET  AUTRES 
LOCUTIONS  EQUIVALENTES. — On  tolerera  toujours  le 
verbe  au  pluriel.  Ex. :  ni  la  douceur  ni  la  force  n'y 
peuvent  rien  ou  n'y  peut  rien; — la  sante  comme  la  for- 
tune demandent  a  etre  menagees  ou  demande  a  etre 
menagee; — le  general  avec  quelques  officiers  sont  sortis 


7"  FRENCH    PRONUNCIATION 

ou  est  sorti  du  camp; — le  chat  ainsi  que  le  tigre  sont 
des  carnivores  ou  est  un  carnivore. 

ACCORD  DU  VERBE  QUAND  LE  SUJET  EST  UN  MOT  CQL- 
LECTIF. — Toutes  les  fois  que  le  collectif  est  accompagne 
d'un  complement  au  pluriel,  on  tol.erera  Taccord  du 
verbe  avec  le  complement.  Ex. :  un  peu  de  connois- 
sance  suffit  ou  suMsent. 

ACCORD  DU  VERBE  QUAND  LE  SUJET  EST  plus  d'un. — 
L'usage  actuel  etant  de  construire  le  verbe  au  singu- 
lier  avec  le  sujet  plus  d'un,  on  tolerera  la  construction 
du  verbe  au  singulier,  meme  lorsque  plus  d'un  est 
suivi  d'un  complement  au  pluriel.  Ex. :  plus  d'un  dc 
ces  hommes  etait  ou  etaient  a  plaindre. 

ACCORD  DU  VERBE  PRECEDE  DE  un  de  ceux  (une  de 
celles}  qui. — Dans  quels  cas  le  verbe  de  la  proposition 
relative  doit-il  etre  construit  au  pluriel,  et  dans  quels 
cas  au  singulier?  C'est  une  delicatesse  de  langage 
qu'on  n'essaiera  pas  d'introduire  dans  les  exercices 
elementaires  ni  dans  les  examens. 

CEST,  CE  SONT. — Comme  il  regne  une  grande  diver- 
site  d'usage  relativement  a  1'emploi  regulier  de  c'est 
et  de  ce  sont,  et  que  les  meilleurs  auteurs  ont  employe 
c'est  pour  annoncer  un  substantif  au  pluriel  ou  un  pro- 
nom  de  la  troisieme  personne  au  pluriel,  on  tolerera 
dans  tous  les  cas  I'emploi  de  c'est  au  lieu  de  ce  sont. 
Ex. :  c'est  ou  ce  sont  des  montagnes  et  des  precipices. 

CONCORDANCE  ou  CORRESPONDANCE  DES  TEMPS. — On 
tolerera  le  present  du  subjonctif  au  lieu  de  I'imparfait 
dans  les  propositions  subordonnees  dependant  de  pro- 
positions dont  le  verbe  est  au  conditionnel  present. 
Ex. :  il  faudrait  qu'il  vienne  ou  qu'il  innt. 


AND    PRACTICAL    PHONETICS  79 

Participe. 

PARTICIPE  PRESENT  ET  ADJECTIF  VERBAL. — II  con- 
vient  de  s'en  tenir  a  la  regie  generale  d'apres  laquelle 
on  distingue  le  participe  de  1'adjectif  en  ce  que  le 
premier  indique  1'action  et  le  second  1'etat.  II  suffit 
que  les  eleves  et  les  candidats  f assent  preuve  de  bon 
sens  dans  les  cas  douteux.  On  devra  eviter  avec  soin 
les  subtilites  dans  les  exercices.  Ex. :  des  sauvages 
vivent  errant  ou  errants  dans  les  bois. 

PARTICIPE  PASSE. — II  n'y  a  rien  a  changer  a  la  regie 
d'apres  laquelle  le  participe  passe  construit  cornme 
epithete  doit  s'accorder  avec  le  mot  qualifie,  et  con- 
struit comme  attribut  avec  le  verbe  etre  ou  un  verbe 
intransitif,  doit  s'accorder  avec  le  sujet.  Ex. :  des 
fruits  gates; — Us  sont  tombes; — elles  sont  tombees. 

Pour  le  participe  passe  construit  avec  1'auxiliaire 
avoir,  lorsque  le  participe  passe  est  suivi  soit  d'un  in- 
finitif,  soit  d'un  participe  present  ou  passe,  on  tole- 
rera  qui  reste  invariable,  quels  que  soient  le  genre  et 
le  nombre  des  complements  qui  precedent.  Ex. :  les 
fruits  que  je  me  suis  laisse  ou  laisses  prendre; — les, 
sauvages  que  I' on  a  trouve  ou  trouves  errant  dans  le 
bois.  Dans  le  cas  ou  le  participe  passe  est  precede 
d'une  expression  collective,  on  pourra  a  volonte  le 
faire  accorder  avec  le  collectif  ou  avec  son  comple- 
ment. Ex. :  la  joule  d'hommes  que  j'ai  vue  ou  vus. 

Adverbe. 

Ne   DANS   LES    PROPOSITIONS    SUBORDONNEES. — L'em- 

ploi  de  cette  negation  dans  un  tres  grand  nombre  de 
propositions  subordonnees  donne  lieu  a  des  regies 
compliquees,  difficiles,  abusives,  souvent  en  contradic- 
tion avec  1'usage  des  ecrivains  les  plus  classiques. 


Sans  faire  de  regies  differentes  suivant  que  les  pro- 
positions dont  elles  dependent  sont  affirmatives  ou 
negatives  ou  interrogatives,  on  tolerera  la  suppression 
de  la  negation  ne  dans  les  proportions  subordonnees 
dependant  de  verbes  ou  de  locutions  signifiant: 

Empecher,  defendre,  eviter  que,  etc.  Ex. :  defendre 
qu'on  vienne  ou  qu'on  ne  vienne; 

Craindre,  desesperer,  avoir  peur,  de  peur  que,  etc. 
Ex. :  de  peur  qu'il  aille  ou  qu'il  riaille ; 

Douter,  contester,  nier  que,  etc.  Ex. :  je  ne  doute 
pas  que  la  chose  soit  vraie  ou  ne  soit  vraie ; 

II  tient  a  peu,  il  ne  tient  pas  a,  il  sen  faut  que,  etc. 
Ex. :  il  ne  tient  pas  a  moi  que  cela  se  fasse  ou  ne  se 
fasse. 

On  tolerera  de  meme  la  suppression  de  cette  nega- 
tion- apres  les  comparatifs  et  les  mots  indiquant  une 
comparaison :  autre,  autrement  que,  etc.  Ex. :  I'an- 
nee  a  ete  meilleure  qu'on  I'esperait  ou  qu'on  ne  I'es- 
perait;— les  resultats  sont  autres  qu'on  le  croyait  ou 
qu'on  «£  le  croyait. 

De  meme  apres  les  locutions  a  mains  que,  avant  que. 
Ex. :  d  moins  qu'on  accorde  le  pardon  ou  qu'on  n'ac- 
corde  le  pardon. 

Observation. 

II  conviendra,  dans  les  examens,  de  ne  pas  compter 
comme  fautes  graves  celles  qui  ne  prouvent  rien  centre 
1'intelligence  et  le  veritable  savoir  des  candidats,  mais 
qui  prouvent  seulement  1'ignorance  de  quelque  finesse 
ou  de  quelque  subtilite  grammaticale. 

Vu  pour  etre  annexe  a  1'arrete  du  26  fevrier  1901. 

Le  minfetrc  de  I' Instruction  publique  et  des  Beaux- 
Arts,  GEORGES  LEYGUES. 

Paris. 


University  of  California 

SOUTHERN  REGIONAL  LIBRARY  FACILITY 

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